Over the years, apprenticeship in France has achieved greater recognition and is now recognised at its true value. It is vital for the future that apprentices acquire the adequate training and experience to run companies in their chosen trade. The European Alliance for Apprenticeships ensures that synergy is relayed on a European level. The alliance’s objective is to combat youth unemployment by improving the quality and supply of apprenticeships across the EU, thanks to a broadly-based partnership between the major stakeholders in the fields of employment and education. Thanks to this policy, employers who are looking for apprentices will be able to find skilled and experienced young people. Above and beyond the development and diffusion of the apprentices’ individual skills and the fact that they are encouraged to become autonomous and show initiative, mobility also has a great impact on companies which need to be aware of the techniques and skills available elsewhere in Europe and the world. It is within this framework that we have implemented our mobility project, “L’Artisanat Picto-Charentais à vocation européenne” for apprentice artisans in the Poitou-Charentes region. Five destinations have been selected: Wroclaw and Biala Podlaska in Poland as well as Lübeck, Oldenburg and Düsseldorf in Germany. The objectives are multifold. Each of the 76 apprentices will be confronted with a first experience abroad, with the added advantage of allowing them to develop proficiency in their chosen foreign language; they will be able to develop their autonomy in what is a completely new environment – a major factor in empowerment – and acquire new professional skills. European mobility will also provide the opportunity for two teachers to exchange on pedagogical best practice with the other education centres, as well as discussing the course content itself. This comparative approach could lead to a specific course being put into place in the region’s schools for apprentices. For the participating organisations, the chambers of trades and crafts – Chambre Régionale des Métiers et de l’Artisanat Poitou-Charentes (CRMAPC, applicant organisation), and the region’s four Chambres de Métiers et de l’Artisanat’ (CMA) – as well as the participating apprenticeship training centres, the key factor at stake is to develop and strengthen a network of European partners that will enhance the attractivity of this sector. The companies which employ these apprentice tradesmen also have their role to play in encouraging mobility and this would be to their advantage as they will benefit from the apprentices’ professional experience and prospects with new, non-domestic markets. In terms of the activities on offer to the apprentices during their period of training aboard, the following professions are concerned: hairdresser, pastry chef, pork butcher, car mechanic... An individual or several professional techniques will also be studied during the 14-day course. The foreign host companies will nominate a tutor for the apprentices: this person will provide guidance, advice and training and will follow the progress of the young people during their mobility period. The above-mentioned Chambers of Trades and Crafts (CMA) will be in charge of implementing the call for applications and selecting the successful candidates amongst those apprentices interested by a period of mobility. They will furthermore be responsible for organising every aspect of the trip - logistics, travel, accommodation as well as producing written feedback on the experience that will, in particular, analyse the positive points and identify areas for improvement (impact assessment, dissemination of results, methods to improve future mobility periods). Foreign Chambers of Trade and Crafts will be in charge of selecting the host companies depending on the activities requested by each apprentice in order to ensure that the work experience offered corresponds to each apprentice’s specific requirements. Finally the regional coordinator (CRMAPC) will be in charge of the global support of the four CMA and the overall consistency of the planned actions and the long-term follow-up of the project. This project aims to allow as many apprentices as possible to benefit from this experience, to acquire new know-how, to validate their career paths, whilst ensuring they can take on new responsibilities. The various stakeholders must develop new partnerships, while developing on the existing partnerships in terms of the activities on offer, which will therefore result in new applications within the framework of Erasmus+. The project will impact on both the participants and the participating organisations. By placing the apprentice at the heart of the scheme, he/she will benefit from the added value of this new experience and display a whole new dimension in their life, whether as adult individuals, professionals or citizens.