We wanted to provide an original response to the needs of our target group for whom this mobility opportunity is a real trigger. The aim of this mobility project was to enable participants to gain personal and transferable skills and work experience, to improve their foreign language skills, and indirectly to improve their chances of entering training and employment. For the vast majority of participants, this extra-insular mobility was a first; it is an opportunity to connect, face to face, with the rest of the world, to create networks, both personal and professional. The experiences had demonstrated the springboard effect of Erasmus+, a real career accelerator. This is why we renewed the project with ErasmusPro, by organising long mobilities of 3 or 6 months during which the learners are immersed professionally in a company. The animation and follow-up of this project also had to contribute to the development of new skills of the staff involved, in order to aim at an optimal management of this type of project and to share knowledge within the Consortium.
Reunion, an ultra-peripheral French region, has alarming statistics in terms of unemployment. It is the highest in France, with a very sensitive situation among the under-25s. Geographical isolation requires young people in Reunion to be mobile. The Missions Locales are active in the social and professional integration of young people, and are mobilized to open up the field of possibilities for its public, young people under 25. Too many young people leave the school system without qualifications and this shows the importance of innovating with training solutions based on non-formal education, based on learning by doing. The Erasmus+ programme allows to activate skills and to put young people in motion. Mobility, given the distance, requires both resources and the removal of fears linked to the unknown and the distance. After having piloted several mobility projects, Mission Locale Sud created a consortium with two other Missions Locales on the island. This consortium drew on the lessons learned from past experiences and embarked on a project mixing long term mobility activities for the public and staff mobility.