Target group of this application´s subject, the mobility project "Developing Intercultural Competences 2016-2018", are 20 trainees, most of them eighteen or over, who are in the second half of their training in engineering. They currently attend vocational college in Emden, Germany (with the majority of students completing the practical part of their course at the VW Akademie in Emden), and want to gain international experience through four-week placement at the Volkswagen-affiliated companies SEAT in Spain and SKODA in Czech Republic. Trainees will be able to compare and correlate the knowledge gained during those placements with experiences they have already made while working in their home factory in Emden. "Developing Intercultural Cometences 2016 - 2018" is the sixth project of its kind and therefore in the position to fall back on established organizational structures which grant a certain measure of continuity. Responsible parties at the vocational college in Emden and at the VW Akademie have drawn up a selection system for suitable trainees and evenly as well as clearly distributed responsabilities for students´ supervision between themselves and their colleagues in Spain and England. On the bases of an agreement between the participants and the German project executing organisation which specifies achievable learning outcomes, trainees are supervizes by instructures in the Spanish and Czech companies respectively. Represenatives of the VW Akademie and the vocational school in Emden futher monitor the learning process through short visits. Those short visits are also supposed to provide reference points for follow-up activities. Logistics and the management of arising complications are the responability of the colleagues in the target country; communication structures between all parties are well-established and tested. Trainees at SEAT in Spain and SKODA in the Czech Republic complete comparable work placements as at the Volkswagen Akademie Emden. Due to a number of parallels in the manufatoring process and the similarity of the finished products, training modules can be completed be the trainees during their four-week placement. While this means that the value of job-specific experiences to be gained abroad is limited, there are a number of wasy in which the rainees`soft skills can be enhanced through their participation in "Developing Intercultural Competences 2016 - 2018". For many of the participants, the placement in Spain or in the Czech Republic means the first step away from a "Hotel Mum", as most of them still live at home. This home is located in the German region of East Frisia (Ostfriesland), known for its remoteness. As future employees of an internationally recognized company, students will most likely be offered the chance to work abroad for an extended period of time. Within this project, trainees can test their suitablity to work in a foreign country, and establish for themselves whether they think that it is an attractive possibility worth considering. Of course, it is entirely acceptable if they come to the conclusion that working abroad isn´t for them, although the acquisition of a taste for working abroad is desirable, alongside perhaps with the realisation that other countries signify an expansion of the trainees`horizon, and not the limit of their work-related world. Another result of this project could be an increased motivation to learn a foreign language. The students`chances on the job market are futher enhanced by the addition of an Europass certificate to their CVs following the completion of their placement. A work experience in Spain and the Czech Republic is a significant step in the trainees`personal development. They learn to be more flexible and enhance their team working skills, become more independent and, through this, more valuable to their company. For VW, the ability to offer a placement in a foreign country is a ideal feature to attract bright young people interested in an apprenticeship; in the light of the current shortage of skilled workers, this aspect is of increasing importance. Through this project, the vocational college in Emden as the German project executing organisation would be able to strengthen relationships with training companies and further receive the opportunity to raise their profile in the public eye.