Mobility activities are generally aimed at giving apprentices and, where applicable, master craftsmen the opportunity to acquire a recognised additional qualification. A learning period in another European country gives participants the chance to get to know the working and living environment of another European country from the inside out with the aim of improving their own professional, linguistic and intercultural competences. Participants as well as home and partner companies should perceive this as an enrichment. The HWK Potsdam is endeavouring to establish mobility activities as an integral part of the dual vocational education and training. To this end, it is important to further develop its own communication structures, to promote and expand networking and to retain participants. In particular, the project gave space to the topic of sustainability and encouraged the participants, companies and partners to engage with the general Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically the sector of sustainable economic across borders.
The Chamber of Crafts Potsdam (HWK Potsdam) is responsible to support its member companies in their personnel and economic challenges. Craft companies have to adapt their business to global technical developments as well as demographic and ecological factors in order to survive on the market in the long term. There is a growing need for qualified skilled workers who are open to intercultural teamwork in addition to their technical skills and knowledge. As a continuous applicant in the Erasmus+ programme (and predecessor programmes), the HWK Potsdam can look back on a consistent number of mobility activities. In order to further expand the services of the international sector for companies and to anchor them structurally within the HWK Potsdam, the project "Years of apprenticeship are years of travel 2022-2023" was used to continue the offers for learners.