Our project was implemented over a three-year period, including job shadowing for trainers, and shorter (4-6 weeks) and longer [PRO] placements for students. The needs of the two target groups are different, although they overlap in some respects. By implementing the project, we have improved the professional knowledge and skills of our tourism and catering teachers and strengthened their foreign language competences. In each case, the mobility was carried out according to a pre-planned and elaborated work programme. The aim was to give our trainers a broad perspective on the structure, functioning and methods of vocational training in Europe, and to gain practical experience in areas of work that are not possible in the context of national training/further training. By providing practical experience, we have also supported a more credible involvement of our trainers in the education/training process. We have paid particular attention to the organisation of dual training in other countries and to ways of supporting cooperation between educational actors. The study visits also helped us to decide whether the partner was suitable to organise and conduct a future learning mobility, to demonstrate quality assurance for the planned placements. The aim of the internships is to give young people an insight into the European gastronomy and tourism scene, thus enriching their professional knowledge and skills. During the internships in European countries, they had the opportunity to use English as a foreign language and sometimes to learn and practise the language of the country. The internships, lasting several weeks or months, also served to develop the associated competences such as personal development, cultural inclusion, and social identity. The aim was also to develop their technological skills by using digital tools to record the students' experiences (photos, video films) and to prepare their documentation (work diaries, PPTs).
Our institution has been involved in international programmes for about two decades and has continuously improved its professional learning processes based on the experience gained. Having seen the positive results of these projects, we have carried out a thorough exploratory and evaluation exercise, which has led to the preparation of an internationalisation strategy, which has mapped out the long-term development of the school by integrating international programmes into the pedagogical programme. Our internationalisation strategy was considered eligible for funding by the Tempus Public Foundation and our application for a Certificate of Excellence in 2019 was positively assessed. Subsequently, our school has planned/plans its Erasmus+ programmes around this strategy, considering the synergistic developmental impact of the projects for students, teachers, partners and the institution as a whole. As a certified institution, we have also set our short-term objectives for the 2020 application year and planned our mobility programmes.