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Vocational training abroad – Learning for the future
Start date: Sep 1, 2016, End date: Aug 31, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Internationalization is very important for the municipality of Eskilstuna, Sweden, and its schools. For many years we have sent students abroad for vocational training with very good results and our intention is to continue this work in 2016-2018 so that more students are able to participate. The consortium, which consists of the Childcare and Education department and the schools Rekarnegymnasiet, Rinmangymnasiet and St Eskils gymnasium, currently has an Erasmus+ KA1 VET project which will end in June, 2016. We intend to continue the collaboration that we have with our partners from that project and also add some new ones. The number of participating students in our new project will be increased from 72 to 104 and they are in vocational programs within the fields of Restaurant, Trade and administration, Building, Mechanics, Childcare, Nursing and health care, Hairdressing and Hotel /Tourism. These students will do vocational training at our partner organizations in Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Luxemburg and Malta for 2-5 weeks. Furthermore, five teachers from the programs Hairdressing and Hotel/Tourism will do job shadowing in Great Britain and the Netherlands. The municipality of Eskilstuna, like many other municipalities in Sweden, struggles with a decreasing number of students applying for vocational programs, a high number of students who do not finish their education, high youth unemployment and also increasing problems of racism and hostility towards immigrants. The consortium needs to offer high quality vocational programs, prevent drop-outs and also increase the knowledge of languages and trade related subjects among the students. Moreover, the students’ personal development is important in terms of self-confidence, intercultural understanding and tolerance of others. Vocational training abroad and the international dimension that it offers, can contribute a lot in these areas and lead to a better future for many people. Vocational training abroad gives the students experiences out of the ordinary and makes the vocational programs more interesting and appealing. It gives the students more knowledge within the field, they get to experience different kinds of techniques and ways of doing things and also different ways of thinking. The job shadowing in the Hairdressing and Hotel/Tourism programs will add positive aspects to the programs, with new ideas and also a collaborative project between the different schools including the vocational subjects and English. This international dimension will be positive for the students and increase their knowledge in these subjects. The vocational training leads to great personal development for the students in terms of self-confidence, the ability to communicate in a different language (especially English), having more faith in their abilities and a greater courage. Being able to spend time in a foreign country without one’s family is a big step to take and contributes a lot to the students’ self-confidence and the feeling of having had the courage and succeeded. It can inspire students who are at risk of not completing their education to actually find the strength to do so. Vocational training abroad can also make it easier for student to find employment . In combination with a greater self-confidence and better knowledge of the field, the increased knowledge of foreign languages can make the students more employable. These students will be important in a job market which is becoming more and more global. We believe that these students can inspire others to find the courage and perhaps look for employment elsewhere, since unemployment is very high in Eskilstuna. During the training abroad the students get to experience a different culture than their own. They meet people of different backgrounds, and get a better understanding for intercultural differences. Since they have to speak a foreign language, they will better understand the difficulties that this can mean when somebody is trying to make him- or herself understood in a language that is not his or her own. We hope for positive effects of dissemination when students share their experiences with friends or classmates, and that this will create a better understanding for, and acceptance of, newly arrived asylum seeking students and other immigrants. This is very important to prevent segregation and racism.

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