The purpose of the mobility was to provide an opportunity to develop self-esteem and confidence in young people who may be facing difficulties in the future employment market because of a range of difficulties ie socio economic background and various behavioural and learning difficulties. The purpose of the mobility was to provide an opportunity for training in a wider setting, to develop technical skills learning from international students and to broaden horizons where there are often constraints finding work experience opportunities in a rural setting such as Shropshire. The training will be relevant to individual student needs and will map into their City & Guilds or other awarding body qualification and will be documented in the Ecvet Learning Agreement & Europass. The mobility will develop social, economic and cultural integration of young people across Europe and will also provide an opportunity to develop technical skills, soft skills and customer service skills and allows them to network with a host of international people. The mobility is also a communication tool as the newly acquired skills, competences and experiences gained can be reflected upon during future interviews and used in scenarios to reflect upon.
Shrewsbury Colleges Group (SCG) have been extremely fortunate to successfully implement five previous European projects in Turkey and Athens over the last 10 years through the previous Leonardo project and Erasmus+ project. The majority of previous participants of these projects have progressed to positive destinations including further training or employment. This information is evaluated through the destination data the college collects for students. University applications for this group have also increased, which is a reflection of the increased self-development and aspirations and impact gained through this type of programme. Due to the success of previous participants and programmes SCG wanted to continue to work with our Athens partners for the Hospitality and Catering students but to also explore and expand partnerships and new opportunities with Third Sector International (3Si) to develop our internationalisation strategy and offer the same opportunities to students in other sectors. The project links to the national priorities as this is an opportunity for young people to hone their skills, develop new skills, learn new competencies and to add value to Lifelong Learning.