Since the summer of 2014, our vocational college (HBFS) for Business Administration has actively embraced mobility projects through EU Erasmus+ funding.To date, we are delighted to have enabled 20 students, spread over two examples of three week flows, to experience work placements in carefully selected, suitable companies in Riga.Naturally, we aim to continue our successful placement relationship over the next 24 months period.Given that HBFS is a full-time vocational college, offering our students a vast range of Business Administration training courses in addition to an in-depth general education, our primary focus would be to encourage and facilitate those students engaged within our two-year Higher Vocational schooling programme.Indeed, our placement partners have been specifically chosen for their clear abilities to enrich our students’ knowledge in a diverse range of economic activities, thatsubsequently better qualifies them to meet the ever increasing demands within our challenging professional business world.For these chosen students, we shall organise a compatible work placement with the goal of “European competence acquired at training facility Riga.”Whilst there, theydraw on and obtain encompassing, hands-on professional skills, affording a shorter further training period within their subsequent training company. Such a beneficial programme fits within the present criteria requiring all students to complete a minimum two week placement, as the MSW within NRW permits this to take place abroad.Albeit temporary, our students will gain invaluable,real lifeinsight into the daily commercial business practices of trading companies, which we simply cannot replicate in college. We also anticipate, and will facilitate towards the diverse social, cultural and free time activities our students will encompass. Our intention is to establish a “Europe” class within our college, with 12 places per mobility being awarded to aspiring students, carefully selected by BKH, who can subsequently be eligible for involvement in further EU programmes. To ensure and maintain high learning standards, we will incorporate ECVET principles,aspects & instruments.Our aims are enhanced by the fact that BKH draws its students from surrounding, rural villages in theHöxter district, having attended and now also attending smaller, more manageable schools.Accordingly, we believe that a focused work placement abroad offers more than a traditional school outing programme. Students will confront and strengthen their foreign language skills, as well as gaining a wide range of personal and practice experiences.Enabled through such EU funding, many students will have a first time opportunity towards a wealth of personal growth via such a career choice placement within the professional world.Having assisted in carefully planning their placement, our students will be working with one of our individually sourced 5 commercial enterprise partners trading next to, or close to, our partner school. Our new placement opportunities include two wholesale businesses, a hotel and a large department store.Typical daily tasks will include face-to-face encounters with real customers, telephone orders and dispatches, clerical duties, warehouse management and logistics planning – often all in a foreign language. Accordingly, our students will draw on and display personal strengths by acting responsibly within a team spirit environment, supported and encouraged by our Latvian partners.Students further gain by meeting other peer group apprentices as well as normal employees. This naturally causes and enables expanding on their communication, language and intercultural competencies, whilst drawing on initiative and independence. All these new or enhanced talents serve as an advantageover career applicant peers without such acquired skills.We will require our students to keep a personal diary or blog, in the expectation that it serves as a useful reminder to skills learned and experiences made. This assists with both our subsequent evaluation and their peer-to-peer dissemination.Successful participants will then be awarded their Euro Pass, which, as we know, significantly enhances their potential attraction to future employers.An equally important long-term aim of our Erasmus+ participation is for the HBFS to maintain, and strengthen our excellent working relationship with our partner in Riga, Latvia.