The need to bring the world of education and vocational training closer to the world of work and production is not yet adequately satisfied. Mobility abroad can make an important contribution, provided it is well targeted. In our case, we have carefully chosen countries with up-to-date production and marketing structures, an internship offer with a working language of Spanish (ES) or English (MT, CZ), and industrial traditions in fashion and textiles that are strong and different from the Italian ones. The presence in the partnership of structures specialized in the management of incoming mobility and in the placement of students on internships is a guarantee of the quality of the organisation, of the training and of the possibility of identifying target companies by defining individual training programs suited to the needs of the project. The CAF aims to offer the students of its schools favorable conditions to broaden their knowledge and strengthen their skills by also putting them in contact with local companies which, in turn, will be able to benefit from the offer of new employees in a sector that requires continuous innovation. Learning foreign languages reinforces the achievement of the goal.
Tuscany and in particular the Arezzo area are a world excellence in the production of the fashion sector, with a great creative and productive tradition and the presence of companies of great global recognition that coexist and interact with a myriad of small businesses. The local vocational education and training system devotes great attention to the sector, as is normal. However, the continuity of tradition also needs openness and innovation, to establish partnerships that are functional to the development of the training offer and of business. For this reason, the CAF, which has a large number of fashion companies among its members, has implemented three Erasmus VET projects, to allow students in the sector to improve their skills thanks to the comparison with the European market and production systems. The CAF has been operating for 12 years in the school-work orientation sector, it has two important Arezzo high schools among its associates and also maintains strong relationships with other schools and with companies in the Fashion, Jewellery, Web design, Corporate Marketing sectors. It also has reliable partners in many EU countries who can easily place learners in companies suited to their studies.