"BERUFLICH FIT IM IN- UND AUSLAND" - (FIT FOR YOUR JOB IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY AND ABROAD) Our school, Hans-Böckler-Berufskolleg in Oberhausen, is a vocational college for commercial education. We have full-time courses for students who wish to acquire school-leaving qualifications. Moreover, we offer part-time courses for students who work in companies and train for an occupation which requires commercial knowledge. Our trainees receive their formal training at our college and in their companies. Thus, this system is called "Dual System". This project is meant for 12 to 20 reliable and motivated trainees of the "Dual System" at our college who are of age. We wish to give them the chance to work and live in the English city of Portsmouth for three weeks. They will take part in a one-week language course and a two-week work placement with an English company. Our trainees will stay with English host families and thus they will constantly be exposed to the English language. This is useful because a lot of trainees do not have many opportunities to use their English language skills on a regular basis while they are in Germany. Nevertheless, they are expected to deal with their English-speaking customers and business partners in a competent and friendly way. To do so, our trainees also need intercultural awareness and intercultural competence in addition to good language skills. Their competence and behaviour are vital for their business partners' impression of their company. But it is also helpful for their personal lives to be able to handle different cultures and new points of view in a respectful and open-minded way. Furthermore, staying in Portsmouth will show our students what it is like to live and work in an English city of a size similar to the cities in the German Ruhr area they know. They will learn to be flexible and to live like citizens of their new temporary home. By practising to independently handle their personal and work-related matters in a foreign country, they gain interesting key qualifications for the European labour market. Their success may also encourage them to actually look for jobs in other European countries rather than restricting their search to Germany. GOALS: Improved command of the English language through a language workshop and the constant use of the English language among native speakers Getting a better understanding of the British way of living and working by being around their host families and other native speakers of English Improving our students' ability to perceive cultural differences in our private and working lives with respect and to deal with these differences competently Promotion of our students' self-dependence by asking them to deal with their personal and professional matters by themselves as much as possible Getting to know new working procedures as a possible inspiration for our students' development in their own companies Promoting a positive attitude towards Great Britain and to working in Europe (for trainees and dual partners) Promoting the cooperation between our college and our dual partners in Germany and the cooperation between our college and our British partner institution MEASURES: Our college organises the mobility together with our British partner, Tellus Group. We are the sending organisation, Tellus is the host. Meetings between the students and the coordinators take place before, during and after the mobility - for an appropriate preparation, realisation and evaluation. Our trainees stay with host families who may have up to eight guests from different countries. In this environment, they use English constantly. During the first week, the students take part in a language course which is tailored to their individual competence levels in English. The work placement takes place during weeks two and three. Additional activities (e.g. movie nights, excursions, conversation classes) are offered throughout the stay. Students are provided with useful tips, security information and emergency numbers. They can receive help from Tellus, their host families and us. Insurances include: accident insurance, health insurance, indemnity insurance, travel cancellation insurance and travel interruption insurance. All our trainees receive a Europass mobility document and a certificate for the language course and the work placement. They will be asked to present their results to their friends, parents and employers. The results will be published (e.g. in newspapers, on our website, at our school). LONG-TERM IMPACT The idea of a unified Europe cannot simply be promoted by doing this project once. However, if we get the chance to send students to Portsmouth regularly and successfully, more and more students and companies will hear about this and tell others about its chances. Thus, step by step, our project can play a part in supporting the cooperation between all the partners and in promoting the idea of living and working in Europe.