The project seeked to benefit individuals, institutions and society as a whole and engaged 14 learners and 14 staff (instead of 20 students and 22 staff) in 2 vocational areas- Engineering and Hospitality & Catering and to carry out mobility activities to Malta and France (instead of to Malta, France and Italy). It built on the success of, and further expanded on, previous projects where Havering students and staff have benefitted from European experience. The projects were in response to the needs of learners and staff and addressed their skill gaps as well as including the wider European objectives and priorities. The students who took part were at UK level 2/3 and studying towards completing BTEC level 3 Extended Diplomas in Engineering and Level 2 Diplomas in Professional Cookery. The staff who took part are VET professionals and are employed in a teaching capacity and/or management positions at the college. The activities completed as part of the project were: - 2 week work placements for Culinary students in Malta and France - 3 week work placements for Engineering and Welding students in Malta - 1 week or less - teaching/training for staff in Malta The project activities for learners focused on work placements in various hotels and/or restaurants (as commis chefs) and engineering companies (trainees/technicians) in Malta and France. These made it possible for students to utilise the theoretical and practical training received in college and transfer it into a real work environment, thus allowing the development of essential work-related knowledge and skills. Not only were the students using what they had learnt previously, they were doing so in a foreign environment where they were out of their comfort zone. The added challenge of a foreign environment was to promote enrichment, improve students confidence and widen their knowledge of other cultures and customs. The activities for staff included teaching placements in the host organisations and/or training activities in the host country institutions in respect of their field of expertise and served as continuous professional development. The main objectives of the project focused on: 1. Improving the level of competences of the participants with a view to improving their employability and addressing skill gaps 2. Development of soft skills including self-confidence, self-reliance, communication, problem-solving, flexibility, social skills etc. 3. Supporting the internationalisation in the college with a view to enhance the international dimension of the education and training at Havering and improve teaching and learning 4. Fostering better cultural understanding and encouragement for learning a foreign language 5. Improving the quality of, and encouraging the creation of new ways of collaboration between the world of education and the world of business 6. Addressing the resistance of UK students to mobility outside of the UK borders and encouraging subsequent participation in mobility activities, including in higher education 7. Improving the attractiveness of VET as a whole The outcomes of the project were: 1. Up-skilling for subsequent employment in a wider European community 2. Improved learners in terms of soft skills 3. Improved VET staff via professional skills/updated industry knowledge 4. Increased collaboration with industry and growth in the college's capacity for innovation 5. Improved cultural understanding, social cohesion and language awareness The project had a great impact on all participants in both their personal and professional development. In addition, living in a foreign environment raised the participants? cultural awareness and deepened their understanding of the country?s customs, culture, history and language which broadened their overall cultural knowledge and tolerance towards other cultures. Most of the students had never been abroad and the project gave them the opportunity to experience looking after themselves independently in an environment outside their comfort zone. It did this through requiring them to communicate in a foreign language and interact with different cultures; work in an environment with different practices, procedures and protocols. This inevitably made them more self-reliant, increased their confidence, made them more tolerant, contributed to their maturity and overall independence. In regards to vocational staff, through the interaction with different educational systems and with their European colleagues, the teaching/training assignments exposed them to different ways and practices of teaching, different methodologies, industry standards, employer engagement and different legislation.