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The Sky is the Limit: Recognising the Potential of..
The Sky is the Limit: Recognising the Potential of VET learners through Engagement in European Mobility
Start date: Jun 1, 2016,
End date: May 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
Leeds City College is committed to providing high quality, innovative learning opportunities which are inspiring and transformative. This ambition is embodied within the college's mission and will be achieved through the continued implementation of outstanding teaching & learning and enrichment opportunities to drive employability and progression prospects and to challenge and extend the student and staff experience to be able to engage on a European platform. The college places the need to respond to growth sectors with the development of specific curriculum requirements at the core of its strategic vision. And in its evolution from a supply based to a demand led model, LCC is committed to providing students and staff with the skills and aptitude to be resilient and proactive in changing employment markets with reference to regional, national and international trends.'The Sky is the Limit: Recognising the Potential of VET Learners through Engagement in European Mobility' aims to challenge and extend the knowledge, skills and experience of Leeds City College students and staff through participation in Vet Mobility placements; in doing so, participants will improve their contemporaneous skills, increase their work readiness, and their confidence to apply their learning, skills and personalities in a European/International context. For student participants, many of whom have underachieved at school & lack basic skills, this project is concerned with motivating and giving them the vocational & soft skills required to access jobs, apprenticeships and higher levels of education. The project will build from previous projects and through the strengths and diversity of European Partners will create unique experiences which will impact on participants’ aspiration and future options. These opportunities contribute to the college’s investment in employability skills and also ensures that LCC students and staff are aware and confident of their potential role within the wider European community. The relationships of respect and trust that have built up between participating curriculum staff and their European peers adds to the quality of the placements and will also support the implementation of ECVET principles across the majority of placements.The correlation between the staff trainer participation in placements, the competences and experiences that they have gained and the impact of these on their professional practice once back in the UK, has driven the demand for the mobility placements for both students and staff, as well as driving the development of European partnerships. Staff trainer participants are essential in the building of a modern & dynamic 21st Century teaching & learning environment. Due to their observations and experience they are able to transfer knowledge, skills, new cultures, values and different approaches to pedagogy & methodology, directly to their own vocational areas and hence wider college.The range of partners and member states enables LCC to oversee a wide range of employer and education practice, cultural and social priorities and different methodology and bias. The development of these partnerships ensures that the work placements are a good fit for individual participants, that it is realistic to implement ECVET across the majority of student mobilities and that the safety and safeguarding of students are secured whilst overseas.Working with 26 partners and 1 consortium often on a reciprocal basis, the project will enable 224 students, supported by 51 accompanying staff to go on placements for 2/3 weeks and 30 staff to undertake staff trainer placements for 1 week.Student and staff participants will be selected from 12 curriculum areas - Childcare; Creative Arts; Enterprise; Foundation Learning; Health & Social Care; Hair & Beauty; Hospitality & Catering; ICT – Creative & Applied; Business Administration; Sport & Public Services; Travel & Tourism and the 14-16 Apprenticeship Academy. These sector areas are either included in the Leeds city Region priority growth sectors or are some of the largest employment sectors in LCR. All have capacity to grow in the 2014-22 labour market predictions.Placements will take place in 13 member states- Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The collaborative nature of these partnerships ensures that all partners and stakeholder will benefit from the development of working relationships, exposure to different cultures, work practices and bias, whether in an educational or employment setting. This will include the establishment of good practice with reference to ECVET, and the monitoring and evaluation of the impact & quality of transnational opportunities. All of which will influence the design & scope of future projects.