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LEarning Outcome-oriented quality Mobility placements to gain transparency and recognition of qualifications within the Tourism and Catering fields
Start date: Nov 1, 2014, End date: Oct 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

One of the central ideas underlying European Lifelong Learning policies is that international mobility should become a natural part of education and training schemes. This helps learners to achieve higher qualification levels which are crucial for a successful first step into the labour market or for career improvements. The EU Member States are fully committed to helping young people take advantage of the opportunities open to them in terms of learning mobility. Young people participating in VET schemes are a particular focus of this commitment, and the Member States recently set a target of enabling 6% of all learners in initial VET to have completed a period of VET study abroad by 2020. In line with these objectives and European policies, through LEO quali-TC Mobility, the Tourism and Catering Schools "Saffi" and "Buontalenti" from Florence aimed to improve the quality of education and vocational training, giving a European dimension to the learning paths and thus providing the young participants the opportunity to test and improve their skills: professionalism in the specific areas of vocational education (tourism and catering), cultural knowledge and linguistic preparation. This general objective, in line with the ET2020 strategy was pursued through a mobility experience that consisted of a learning mobility internship abroad of 3 weeks for 94 students/learners (including 7 students with special needs) from the 2 participating Tourism and Catering VET schools. The training programme included an internship in selected companies in the tourism and catering sectors, to acquire knowledge and skills within the sectors and compare the various professional techniques, and activities aimed at the inclusion and integration in the context and for the improvement of language skills and to better know the culture of the hosting country. The main results from the project included: the rise of the personal and professional skills of the students, and the promotion of key competencies related to the real exercise of active citizenship; increasing the employment potential of the participants, the introduction of innovative training methods as a complement to existing practices and pathways and the improvement of the educational level of technical and vocational schools, the development of relations between the transnational partners and the promotion of processes of cooperation and exchange of good practices between the partners involved, with a significant impact in improving the educational and vocational guidance. The construction of a permanent network of transnational public-institutional organisations and not only, therefore, was one of the main objectives of the project and allowed the exchange of experiences and best practices at various levels (technical excellence, best practices in educational policies and governance of the system). The Consortium, with this proposal, therefore, aimed to give momentum to the internationalization of institutional relations and cooperation at European level. The opportunities for economic and social growth cannot be separated from the desire to create strong interdependence and synergy between educational and training institutions and strong partnerships with local and foreign business realities. The project was, besides, implemented in an European context considering the European priority and thematic approached such as "ECVET for transparency and recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications" and was in continuity with the Leonardo da Vinci project TOI "LEO quali-TC" promoted by IPSSAR "Saffi" in 2013. The development of ECVET began in 2002 after the Copenhagen Process emphasizing the need for a credit transfer system for VET. LEO quali-TC Mobility was a project based on the concrete responses to the questions of developing ECVET in the European member States and corresponding to the 2009 EU Recommendations on the establishment of the European Credit system for VET. The project worked in particular to realise an European area for Lifelong Learning in the Tourism and Catering sectors. The whole activities were implemented by regarding a strong European perspective which was reflected in all project activities and results. The project aimed to increase the knowledge of ECVET and its technical specifications and ensuring that the added value of ECVET was understood and perceived inside and outside the partnership.

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