The DCMI 2015 project will offer VET learners opportunities to gain valuable European work experience and knowledge within the Digital Media and Creative Industries sectors. The project partnership includes Host Employers from Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic selected for their ability to provide high-quality and relevant placements to our VET learners from our Digital Marketing and Social Media for Business; and Professional Practice for the Creative Industries courses. The project will offer European work placements for learners from Capacity London’s vocational courses in: Digital Marketing and Social Media for Business; and Professional Practice for the Creative Industries. These placements will provide an invaluable bridge for participants from their vocational training course to employment or self-employment in their chosen sector. It will also provide a platform for learners to enhance their language skills and develop a cultural understanding that will help them become more mobile within Europe in their future careers. The primary objectives of the project are to: • Support the aspirations of VET learners by providing them with work experience to enhance their recently developed vocational skills • Assist VET learners in moving into future employment in the Digital Media and Creative Industries sectors in the UK or across Europe • Enable participants to develop linguistic and cultural skills essential to accessing employment in other countries within the European market • Enhance links between our VET provision for the Digital Media and Creative Industries and employers in these sectors to support pathways from VET courses into the world of work The Digital Media sector is a fast moving sector undergoing constant change as new ‘disruptive’ technologies; new applications and methodologies continuously push the boundaries of what is possible. Individuals need to be practising their trade and continuously developing. The Creative Industries are a difficult sector within which to establish a career, as the early stages of the career are characterized by very low pay which can push people out of the sector or discourage them from entering it all together. For both sectors the opportunity to undertake a professional placement in another EU country will support participants in establishing a career in their chosen field. To that end the specific objectives of the DMCI project are: • To support the aspirations of VET learners by providing them with work experience within employers that will develop their newly learned skills • To assist VET learners in moving into employment in the Digital Media or Creative Industries sectors, in the UK or across Europe • To enable participants to develop the linguistic and cultural skills required to access employment in other countries within the European labour market Participants entering the DMCI through Capacity London’s Digital Media vocational qualification will be from one of two distinct groups with diverse backgrounds. The first group are young people who are taking a more traditional vocational training route, rather than entering higher education, and that have limited work experience. The second group will be those who are undertaking vocational training to update or expand their range of skills of those that are seeking a career change. Participants entering the DMCI project through Capacity London’s Professional Practice for the Creative Industries will be those people with creative craft skills who want to develop their employability, professional practice and business skills. These individuals need to gain experience in the industry side of their field in order to learn to apply their skills to generate an income. Learning Outcomes for the participants will be focussed around three key themes: (1) General employability learning outcomes (2) Linguistic and cultural learning outcomes (3) Vocation specific learning outcomes (digital media or creative industries) Participants will attain a number of benefits from the project, including improved professional skills for the target sector and enhanced employability, as well as increased linguistic and cultural skills. The most significant measure of the impact of the project for participants will be success in securing sustainable employment after they have completed their mobility placements. Based on our experience of previous mobility projects, we expect that, of the 58 participants, 44 will enter employment within 3 months of completing their mobility and, of these, 39 (90%) will sustain employment for at least 6 months. The project will raise awareness of the opportunities and benefits offered by the Erasmus Plus programme and promote both Digital Media and the Creative Industries as vital parts of the trade landscape at national and European levels.