We intend to: 1)Value professional education both in school and in the local community, through European mobilities which will work as an additional seal of quality to basic training; 2)Using professional education to discover other cultures and practise other languages, thus promoting interculturality - Current companies work in any corner of the world, which makes it necessary to communicate in other languages and learn about other cultures; 3) Reinforce the network of protocols between the school and companies in the local and international market, in order to enhance students' internships and their future employability - Erasmus+ internships are valued by companies as quality training experiences and this recognition will help to get more internship places in companies; 4) Promoting professional education among teaching staff - mobility will provide teachers with differentiated job opportunities that will allow them to apply their personal and professional skills in other contexts; 5)Using professional education as a bridge to project the school as a training entity in the European Union - mobilities will allow us to show what we do and how we do.
Carlos Amarante School Group (AECA) is a public education institution with 14 schools. It is attended by more than 3000 students from all levels of education, from pre-school to adult education. Vocational training has always existed at Carlos Amarante Secondary School(ESCA). It has, over time, adjusted itself to the market needs, but it is inseparable from its identity. In recent years, it has been very difficult to attract an audience for the vocational courses (VC), even with guaranteed work in the local market (source: InvestBraga). Students who have chosen a VC state that they did so as their last option (source: diagnostic questionnaire applied at the beginning of the course). On the part of the teaching staff, it appears that the VC are neglected in relation to other classes because students are labeled as unmotivated, with limited prospects of success and with behavioral problems (source: 2021 school service distribution). On the part of the companies that welcome them in internships in the 11th and 12th grades, year after year, there is also some difficulty in confirming the internships (source: Course’s Directors).