“Julien de Balleure” Vocational College is situated in Chalon sur Saône and provides training to some 400 students, mainly boys. They come from different ethnic and social backgrounds, races and have different religion beliefs. The college offers National Vocational Qualifications and Diplomas Level 4 and 5 in a wide range of areas such as : IT, electrical and electronics, plastic processing, machining and toolmaking, industrial maintenance, welding and sheet metal work. Our goals : - Get the College students used to partake in work experience outside of France, - Strengthen the European dimension of the College, - Enhance the college profile, - Diversify the partnerships, - Develop European citizenship and open-mindedness, - Fight against school failure and help them to regain self-esteem, - Improve vocational and language skills. The College works closely with the local companies and businesses. It is essential to the success of the students.The students have not or rarely had the opportunity to travel. The prospect of carrying out a work experience in another European country will motivate them and will link together language and vocational training. Their interest in close but different cultures has to be encouraged, moreover, in the new work program of French they have to study the notion of identity and diversity; therefore experiencing new cultural codes for a while will make them more conscious of their European citizenship. The College will provide the opportunity for 24 students, both boys and girls of 18 years of age, to carry out a 4 week work placement in a European company. The period will be part of the training and assessment required for their diploma. They will expand and improve the vocational skills related to their training. To run this project, the steering group has defined the various steps in a provisional calendar (Gantt chart, see attached annex). Impact and expected results : - Open-mindedness and interest of the whole college community, - Enhance the profile of the College, both locally and further afield, - Make industrial vocational education at the College a more attractive career choice, - New teaching methods (transversal skills, teaching in pairs) - New skills for the teachers (cultural and linguistic), - Create enthusiasm for working and/or studying abroad. Benefits in the long-run : - Strong and long-lasting partnerships, - For local companies, a better skilled workforce with a higher level of key competences and skills, - An increasing number of young graduates who may work anywhere in Europe, - Positive evolution of the skills, teachers and students eager to learn and speak new languages within the European family.