Gearing Up will take 40 young people (aged 16-19) from disadvantaged backgrounds from Birmingham, on a 2 week automotive work placement to Istanbul, Turkey. The Gearing Up partnership is comprised of South and City College Birmingham and our host partner Enseler Vocational School (Turkey, Istanbul) The IVT participants from SCCB will be taken in 4 flows of 10 and will be accompanied by staff. Our project outcome is to ensure that these young people can, after completion of the placements, go on to find and sustain a learning, training or work opportunity. Participants will be young people who are undertaking various types IVT motor mechanics courses. Many of our participants will be from disadvantaged backgrounds, with poor education and employment histories, and will be struggling to stay in education. We aim to attract both young men and women; our project will be inclusive and open to all Motor Vehicle IVT students that meet our selection criteria. Whilst undertaking the mobilities we will seek to pilot ECVET across our partnership ensuring 2 distinct elements of our project - a work placement and a formalised recognition of learner skills and qualifications. This will help us to evaluate the impact of using EU systems to recognise skills and getting our participants to think of themselves as Europeans. It will also enable partners to understand the importance of working in a EU arena. This project has been designed to support young people, who are risk of becoming unemployed after the completion of their studies. The work placement will provide real practical skills in an automotive setting and our participants will be repairing and servicing high end cars such as Ferrari's and Porches. Applicant: SCCB is a vocational college, providing a range of vocational learning activities for young people from across Birmingham. SCCB is experienced at managing EU work placements for its students. SCCB will be responsible for the management and administration of the project, from recruiting participants, defining training content, monitoring project outcomes, dissemination and evaluation systems. This opportunity is essential for our students helping them to gain skills and employability skills. Our host partner Ensenler was selected on the basis of its track record. Their project team having managed and hosted a number of mobility projects and are familiar with the learning requirements of our participants. It is well connected with the Governorship of Istanbul, who are providing backing to the project. Esenler, as a number of industry partners like the Dogus and Birmot Groups who are leaders in the automotive industry and able to provide our participants with state of the art work placement opportunities, that would not be available in the UK. The project will provide an opportunity: •To capture and accredit practical skills in a work environment that can be used as part of the qualifications that these young people are studying towards •Improve self-confidence/aspirations •Acquire employability and language skills, so they have a better chance of employment or further training •Independant Living Skills •Broaden the outlook of our young people •Provide high end work placements that are not available to our young people at the moment, due to the stagnation /decline in the motor industry/recession in the UK Our results will be motivated young people with increased confidence and self esteem to gain qualifications and develop their skills throughout the course of their lives. they will value learning and opportunity to use education as a driver to improve their lives. It will also have an impact on teaching/skills recognition. The project will also help SCCB to review VET practices, provision and ensure that we can meet our European Development Plan aims and objectives.