Exit Comfort Zone
Start date: Jun 1, 2015,
End date: May 31, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project aims to (1) conduct training abroad for 32 students in need of special support, and (2) all consortium members are actively involved in project implementation by the formation of a joint steering committee and by staff from all consortium members actively working in the practical implementation of the participants' internship abroad. The project aims to (1) increase the opportunity for participants/students to reach work and give participants a better understanding of other cultures, (2) to increase its members' knowledge about mobility and (3) improve the quality of the target group´s vocational courses.
The project will contribute to increased knowledge about how to make available training abroad for a target group that does not by itself have the opportunity to implement this.
The project responds to several of the development needs of the consortium respective organisations identified and against many of the developmental needs that are common to the consortium, which is described in D.
The activities and selection of participants respond to two of the overall objectives of education in 2020 by contributing to the goal of improving quality and outcomes of education and by contributing to the goal of working towards equality, social inclusion and active citizenship.
The project also responds to multiple objectives of mobility projects in schools and vocational training, mainly aiming to increase participants' knowledge and understanding of other cultures and countries and to help young people acquire skills that enrich their development and increasing job opportunities. The project also contributes to the goal of supporting the professional development of professionals in training to enhance the quality of teaching and aim to increase capacity, attractiveness and the international dimension of organisations in education.
Participants include people with different types of disabilities and the selection prior participants who do not by themselves have the opportunity to undertake a period of training abroad and in addition, for various reasons need special support to reach work. The project strives to achieve gender balance in the selection of participants. Internship abroad is a formal qualification and it also contributes significantly to the personal development towards increased social skills, greater independence, increased European identity and a greater understanding of other cultures. The requirements in the labor market and the participants' entry in the open labor facilitated after the training period. Participants will be strengthened and given a greater confidence in their own ability. To undertake training directly linked to the current education in another country is a formal qualification to show an employer. Many employers see it as an expression of initiative, taking the step to go to another country to work.
We will make use of and develop the experience and model of individual support Actíva created in previous mobility projects. In the participants´preparatory part, we will, for example, have elements concerning health and work life, an area we know that people in the target group have little knowledge of. That in a motivating and educational way teach the young adults how the choice of diet, procedures for sleep and physical activity affect their work capacity, is an important success factor for the participants' ability to reach, get and keep a job and thus achieve self-sufficiency. Preparations also include, for example, knowledge about the EU, knowledge about the destination and of cultural differences and similarities within and outside the labour market.
Knowledge and experience of the project is to be brought into the consortium organisations. The project will also work to ensure that the coordinator is spreading previous experience and knowledge of mobility activities to the sending organisations in the consortium. Staff from the sending organisations will be involved in the preparation, implementation and evaluation with the participants. A steering group with at least two representatives from each consortium member will be formed. The Steering Group will continuously evaluate the project's efforts and experiences. The steering group representatives and staff from the individual consortium members who work actively in the project are key people for the dissemination of knowledge in their organisations. The learning that takes place can thus be integrated into the consortium's strategic development and help to improve the quality and attractiveness of each organisation. This knowledge also contributes to development of skills and the professional development of staff within the consortium.