EUROVET1517 is an Erasmus+ VET learner mobility project targeted at young people aged 18 to 25 who have completed vocational training courses at NVQ Level 3 or above in each of the two consortium sending organisations, the University of Northumbria and Northumberland College, in their first year following completion. There are a large number of such young people in the North East of England who are unemployed, but there is also a shortage of such young people with relevant work experience in most areas of the local economy; EUROVET1517 aims to provide carefully chosen bespoke work placements in Europe, which will enable these young people to acquire enhanced knowledge and skills in their occupational sector, in order to give them a better chance of securing employment locally at an appropriate level. This will also contribute to the regeneration of the local economy by helping to provide the trained workforce that is needed in most of the region's industry sectors, and in particular business and marketing, media and graphic design, and hospitality and tourism. A recent report (19/03/2014) by the Local Government Association (LGA) concluded that the problem of underachievement among 16-24 year olds is particularly acute in industrial cities in northern England, such as Newcastle. One of the areas with the biggest pool of 'hidden talent' among 16-24 year olds is Tyne and Wear (43%) This year, in their report “The Geography of Youth Unemployment, The Work Foundation at the University of Lancaster found that youth unemployment in most major UK cities was considerably higher than comparable cities in Germany, and that in the Newcastle conurbation it is currently running at 21-25% The region's economic development needs skills in all sectors and in particular business and marketing, media and graphic design, and hospitality and tourism, which are all fundamental to future growth; with the need to drive up demand for skills, most of the new work opportunities in these sectors will be at the qualified vocational levels. Furthermore all employers continue to demand greater soft skills such as those which can be developed in a trans-national work placement. EUROVET1517 will introduce participants to the experience of living and working in other EU countries, and to the notion of looking further afield for new ideas and inspiration. It is intended that by experiencing mobility placements they will gain new practical experiences, learn how to carry out occupational tasks in different ways, begin to see new employment possibilities and develop adaptability to change in their chosen occupational areas, and in this way contribute to improving the competitiveness of our key regional industries. By working for 3 months within a different culture they will develop the 'soft skills' which are now key for employment, and it is also hoped that they will increase their awareness of wider European citizenship, culture, traditions, and languages, and hence become better EU citizens through this experience. The aims of the project are therefore: 1) To enhance the employability of young people who have recently completed vocational training at NVQ Level 3 or above, and who are resident in the north east of England, by providing them with relevant work experience in other countries 2) To enable these participants to broaden and develop their linguistic and cultural knowledge, skills and competences through direct experience of working in other countries 3) To contribute to the regional economy by producing potential high quality recruits who have a European and international perspective, and who can add European value to companies who employ them 4) To add value to participants' existing qualifications by providing them with opportunities to practise and develop their existing skills in a European context Expected outcomes are: 1) Participants who are more knowledgeable, skilled, personally and professionally confident, and employable than before their placements 2) Participants who can add value to companies in key economic sectors in the north east of England by providing a European and international perspective The mobilities will take place over a period of two years; there will be 64 mobilities in total, divided into 8 groups of 8 mobilities each, to 17 receiving host partner organisations in two different countries. 8 groups of 8 participants will each undertake a work placement at the same time in the same country, providing opportunities for mutual support and reflection and sharing of experiences. In addition, each of the 8 groups will receive a monitoring visit during their placement from an Accentuate 'accompanying person'. The project will be conducted in line with the ten principles of the European Quality Charter for Mobility, and recognition and certification will be by the use of Europass Mobility, Europass CV and Europass Language Passport.