The project is coordinated by Raahe Vocational College, and involves two other Finnish Vocational Colleges (Kokkola Vocational College and Nivala Vocational College), 18 foreign partners and 3 Finnish partner enterprizes. The beneficiaries come from various study fields in the colleges and also include students with special needs. The Colleges involved have cooperated in various projects since 2006. The total number of students in the colleges is over 5000, which explains the amount of grants applied for, as well as the number of receiving partners. This project is is a continuum to projects Work, Skills and Costs , year 2010, and Work, Skills and Costs 2, year 2012. The cooperation in the earlier projects has been impeccable. Nivala Vocational College is a new partner in this project. The main objective of the project is to increase the the students’ professional skills and cost awareness and to compare the living costs and labour expences in the host countries. In addition, the students will study how ergonomics, the principles of sustainable development, and health and safety regulations are realized in their training enterprises. The project also encourages the students to improve their vocational, social and language skills. The results are tables of eg. the cost of one employee to the employer, description of the working hours and holiday practices, or food, living and travelling expences in the host country. Ergonomic tasks are realized in picture reports, video clips etc. Reports will be used eg. in entrepreneurship studies and when preparing new students for training abroad. In the previous projects the objectives proved to be extremely beneficial for the participiants, so we will continue with the same goals and disseminate the good practices to the new partners. The experts involved in the project will be chosen from different study fields, so that the impact will be as wide as possible. The exchanges will take place mainly during the students’ on-the-job learning periods, so it is possible to monitor the students abroad. The participation of the enterprises is made easier by sending the participiant abroad together with a vocational teacher. Working abroad will help the teacher to get new ideas, and to find possibilities to develop their work methods and equipment, and thus also enable the school to respond to the needs of the working life and the students. A well-functioning cooperaton network is essential when realising this. This project will bring new know-how and expertise into the colleges involved. The length of each staff exchange will be 3 to 7 days, depending on individual needs. A common challenge in all fields is the rapid internationalisation, which sets new demands for the education, as well as the working skills of the students. Especially in the Raahe area the need for staff with good language skills and international abilities is increasing due to the nuclear power plant being built. Working with foreign people is increasing everywhere. Especially the entrepreneurs in the metal and electronics industry require that the students will aquire the skills needed for working abroad already during their education. In the restaurant business it is essential to have good language skills and to be able to understand foreign cultures. This will also help the students to be employed in their home region. The length and content is tailored according to the student’s individual needs. Based on previous experiences, the exchanges take place in September-November and March-April. Some examples of the studies and host countries: - Metal engineering: TIG-welding, industrial maintenance in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain - Electrical engineering: industrial automation processes, smart home and control systems in Germany, Spain, Turkey - Vehicle engineering: common rail systems, hybrid technology in Germany, Spain - Construction, Heating plumbing and air conditioning: repair construction, smart technology in Spain, Poland - Hairdressing, catering: customer service skills, trends in the field in Italy, Great Britain, Portugal, Hungary - Laboratory students: environmental protection, clothing chemistry, water processing in Hungary, Portugal, Spain - The mobilities of the students with special needs will emphasize language skills Each mobility will be validated with a Europass, and the placement abroad will be fully accredited for the student as a part of the studies. The participating organisations will benefit from the network and the experiences of the partners. The networking enables the organisations to benchmark their practices and to introduce new actions and thus further develop their internatonalizaton processes. The results of the project will be disseminated both within the participating organizations and in their networks.