84 trainees have been granted through the Pool-project. The average age of the participants is 22 years old. Professional categories promoted: - Commercial (business administration) with foreign languages as the main emphasis- 30 people - Transport / logistics - 16 - office work/ Marketing/ management- 8 - Children’s education and social work -6 - Media, clothes and graphic design - 6 - Medical-technical or biological laboratory - 6 - Tourism and event management - 8 - other - 4 The project have been co-ordinated by BIP-Kreativitätszentrum gGmbH in cooperation with the following vocational schools and apprenticeships: - Berufsfachschule für Sozialwesen Pankow and Märkisches Berufskolleg Unna - EURO Fremdsprachenschule Ingolstadt e. V. and Fremdsprachenschule Regensburg - EWS Europäische Wirtschafts-und Sprachenakademie GmbH Aachen - Rottendorf Farma GmbH - Berufsbildende Schulen der Stadt Osnabrück am Pottgraben - DACHSER GmbH & Co. KG - Institut für Wissen und Bildung Plauen - IHK and HWK nationwide The project has been aimed at individuals in occupations who primarily need to develop / optimize their experience: - In an international context - In dealing with people from different environments / backgrounds / cultures / and languages - To strengthen the relationship between Europe settled partner companies, and therefore presuppose the international experience The objectives of the project were the following: - Guaranteeing and expanding the knowledge of the trainee - Obtaining additional know-how (new methods, approaches, proceedings in their respective professional fields) - Strengthening foreign language skills (in general and specific) and using them in a professional environment (work placement) - Gaining confidence with people from different cultures as well as improving the participant´s intercultural competences Project dates and duration as well as destinations have been discussed with the educational institutions in advance. These are adjusted to the above mentioned objectives, training needs of the trainees and guidelines of their respective educational institutions. Distribution of target states: UK- 21 participants; Ireland- 19; Spain- 18; France-10; Sweden - 5, Slovakia - 3; Denmark - 2, other coountries- 6 participants. The duration of the individual stays varied between 2 and 24 weeks with an average duration of 7 weeks. The choice of the countries was in part specified by the training companies, more specifically directed according to the interests and the learning needs of the participants. The trainees were supported from the second year of training so that they have a deep knowledge or rather they were able to assume their first professional experiences as a solid basis for a rewarding traineeship abroad. Each educational institution was established the practical training contents in writing. These were arranged to suit the curriculum and the schedule of the training course and to build a basis of the planned work placement abroad. This ensures the quality of the project is guaranteed. The work placement coordinators abroad were asked to check on the professional context and to thereby secure the development of the respective vocational skills of the participant. The work placements were arranged individually and took place in the respective professional fields of the trainees for example in transport and logistics companies, Event companies, schools and kindergardens, chemical labs, compnies from the field fashion design, in offices of profit nd noon-profit organisations. This was to guarantee the qualitative implementation of the projects. In order to secure the administrative course of action of the work placement abroad and to make it transparent for the participants, all trainees were prepared with a Skype conference or by personal meeting. During this conference or meetings the project dates were discussed, the focal points of the context were fixed, the administrative course of the project was clarified and the project quality controls and validation requirements of the work placement were discussed. The linguistic preparation of the participants was undertaken at language schools in Germany or abroad, or with the language modules on the internet. The participants were provided with suggestions on how and where abroad they can educate themselves linguistically. The goals of the mobility initiative are the following: - Gaining professional competence through practical implementation of knowledge - Increase of skills of the participants (getting to know new procedures, methods and approaches in the respective professional area of their work placement) - Reduction of language barriers by using a foreign language (in written as well as orally)/ increasing confidence in using a foreign language The project was implemented between August 2014 and June 2016.