CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT: The region of Agder will need qualified personell within most vocational studies in the next 30 years. In Norway we need about 1000 more qualified employees within food and catering the next years. This is much more than what we educate today. Within the hairdressers we need more qualified personell than what we educate today. Within building and construction we also need more qualified personell. We need to teach our apprentices how to build passive- or pluss houses. In 2015 all new houses in Norway shall have passive house standard. We need to learn from other countries in order to achieve these goals. The dropout rate is also very high in these three education programmes. The selected educational programmes are chosen based on the needs of the companies for more and well-qualified personell. The project will systematically use international co-operation to improve the quality of education in key areas, contribute to increased recruitment to areas that need it, reduce dropout, increase motivation for learning and improvement of training in foreign languages. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT: Strengthen the participation in EU programmes and international cooperation networks , by sending apprentices and trainers/teachers within building and construction. Such initiatives could mean that the region is provided with useful experience, competence and technological solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate changes from foreign actors. Increased recruitment - Increased status of vocational education - Increased knowledge for participants - Reduced dropout - Increased motivation LONGER TERM BENEFITS: The MARA project aims to support the five main areas of the Regional strategy for Agder. The MARA project will be in line with the International and regional strategy for the region of Agder. The region actively uses internationally available knowledge to stimulate regional development, the raising of competence levels and lifelong learning. -in 2020 to make Aust-Agder county a more attractive, sustainable, innovative, competitive, open, inclusive and learning region. -in 2020, apprentices and professionals in vocational training will have received education and experiences which strengthen global solidarity. -in 2020, education and research in Agder play an important role in ensuring that society is equipped to meet the global challenges of the future. -in 2020, the international competence held by the region has been significantly raised through active participation in international research and innovation programmes. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS AND DESCRIPRION OF ACTIVITIES: We are planning to send 52 apprentices, 5 teachers and 5 instructors/professionals. All participants will be last year apprentices and professionals working with apprentices, such as training managers or instructors in companies and training offices. The teachers will be working with vocational education. The instructors and the teachers will be deployed simultaneously in businesses in the partner countries. The mobilities will take place in the region of Hengelo in The Netherlands and in the Eastern Region of England, Italy, Spain and Dennmark. The mobilities will take place between October 2015 until April 2017 The MARA project will be managed by the VET section in Aust-Agder county, in co-operation with the apprenticeship training office for building and construction (OKAB) , the apprenticeship training office for restaurant and food processing in Agder and the apprenticeship training office for hairdressers. The project team will be responsible for information, invitation, selection, monitoring before, during and after deployment, and the final reporting for all participants. Letters of intent have been made with all involved parties in the project. RESULTS AND IMPACTS: The expected result is that the participants will gain insight into how the challenges are resolved in the recipient countries and bring solutions to improve practices at home. "Hospitality and Catering" and "Building and Construction" are pilot projects, and the county and other training offices want to extend the scheme to other subjects if this is a success. The project will contribute to positive attention to vocational training and education in our part of the country. We expect that the MARA project contributes to society and business in Aust-Agder county, and the county will be better equipped to meet future global challenges. The Region will use active knowledge available internationally to stimulate regional development, lifelong learning and development of skills. The project will promote friendship and partnership across borders, increased tolerance and understanding of other cultures and ethnic groups, increase our understanding of other countries cultures, languages and traditions.