Our mobility project has two main goals : The first goal is to improve English skills with a better spoken production and interaction but also to improve results according to the Common European Framework of Reference for English. The second goal is to make our students want to exchange, to discover another person, to become autonomous, to be curious, to face up to the reality of other countries, of other people and to build confidence in their personal resources. Mobility makes it possible to gain in autonomy and confidence. As a result, the student will be less afraid, he will improve his skills. He has realized that he was able to go leave his country and to be trained in another language than his mother tongue. The students that have taken part in a mobility get good results and often obtain their diploma with honours. They have a better marketability and they are more adaptable since they have had to face up to situations unheard of in France during their stay in another European country. They will have a better geographical mobility at the regional, national and European levels. They will be less afraid to go abroad, to relocate in France and to adapt to a new situation. For employers, these characteristics will be appreciated since they will interact with staff that are open to other cultures and that are curious about new techniques and adaptable. These criteria will make a difference when choosing a new recruit.
Les Portes de Chartreuse vocational high school trains students who intend to work in hotel management and catering, in bakery and confectionery, in commerce and customers’ relationships. Food-related jobs are fully appreciated abroad and give a new possible doorway to our future professionals so that they can make a career in these welcoming countries. Today, French cuisine and food-related jobs in general can be exported, French breads and pastries are fully valued abroad. However, French people are not very good at speaking English. This is the reason why we offer all students in BTEC National the possibility to do a training period abroad. A selection is carried out at the end of the first year and is perfected at the beginning of the second year of training. It is important that the student be ready for a mobility abroad. Furthermore, the opening to European countries all over Europe enters into Les Portes de Chartreuse’s project. We offer mobilities to our students but also to the school staff, teachers as well as supervisors, and we are carrying on with the development of our current partnerships with Tampere high school (Finland), Split high school (Croatia), and the French Centre of Berlin (Germany).