„Professional Mobility – apprenticeships abroad – a chance for a good job III” project for the pupils of Zespół Szkół Politechnicznych 'Energetyk' in Wałbrzych to undergo traineeships in companies located in Irland and Italy. The project will be run in 2014/2015 school years, with participants being in their third year of education in our school. The project is aimed at pupils learning the following specialities: - electronic engineer - electrician - IT specialist - teleinformatics specialist - advertising specialist - digital graphics processing specialist The project provides an answer to an increasing demand for specialists in technical subjects. Technological progress more and more often requires young people to possess skills and understanding of technological processes, create technical documentation (also in foreign languages). It is also an answer to the unemployment rate in the Wałbrzych district which has been growing since 2008, and currently is estimated at almost 21% (according to data released by GUS). Such a situation is caused by, among other factors, a low level of employees’ skills and their inability to adapt to the needs of the local labour market. As one of other causes one could name the decline of mining industry, which led to structural unemployment. At the beginning of 2009 the number of people registered in the local labour office was growing at over 800 per month. The creation of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone “INVEST-PARK” spurred a growing demand for specialists in several areas of technical knowledge. However, employees hired by the companies situated in “INVEST-PARK” have to be highly-qualified, able to work in international teams, speaking foreign languages. Over the recent years, companies such as Toyota, Cersanit, Faurecia, General Electric, Metzeler, Henkel - Ceresit, Whirlpool, FagorMastercook, Electrolux, Bridgestone, Colgate Palmolive, Cadbury or Marcegaglia have made investments in the Zone. During their years, our pupils gain basic knowledge in their respective fields. In our view, however, it is necessary to equip them with practical ability to work in international companies, as well as broaden their practical skills related to their area of specialization. Completing a training period abroad would constitute a significant advantage on the local and regional labour market. The main goal of the project is to increase our pupils’ professional competence, as well as develop skills necessary to work in international teams. After completing the traineeship, participants should considerably increase their professional abilities. Additionally, they should improve their foreign language skills (general English B1). Among the expected results we can list the following: - increasing our pupils’ knowledge and skills related to their vocational education - improving their teamwork abilities - preparing them to work in international teams - improving their self-esteem - increasing their awareness of benefits stemming from non-school education and learning foreign languages - increasing their chances for finding a good job after completing education. Additionally, the proposed project will provide an added value in the shape of: - increasing participants’ social skills - including in the project groups threatened with social exclusion - a significant percentage of our pupils comes from rural areas or single-parent families – and showing them possibilities of personal and professional development, thus convincing them they can improve their family situation - promoting the concept of traineeships in EU countries among other schools in Wałbrzych district, as well as schools in the whole region of Lower Silesia - giving participants a chance to create international acquaintances and friendships