BBS Stadthagen is a vocational school situated in Lower Saxony, Germany with an enrollment of approx. 2,000 students. 45 % of these are apprentices in 33 different professions. During the 2-year project period 28 apprentices from the following professions had the opportunity to do a 3-week job placement in either France or England. Job placements in France:* - hotel and restaurant specialist (2) - sales assistant in bakeries (1) Job placements in England:* - plant mechanic (1) - baker (1) - banker (7) - office management assistants (2) - management assistant for retail services (s) - management assistants in wholesale and foreign trade (2) - hotel and restaurant specialist (1) - industrial management assistant (1) - legal assistant (1) - assistant tax consultant (1) - technical product designers (2) - assistant in public administration (3) - shop assistant (1) *figure in brackets show number of participants The objectives of this project were to promote decision-making skills and responsibility among young apprentices in order to improve not only their foreign language skills and therefore their occupational skills, but also acting tolerant towards other cultures, increase their self-confidence and enhance their ability to manage conflicts . Participants were chosen by their technical and foreign language skills but also by criteria that review the applicant's ability to adapt to new situations. Independence, willingness to aquire new skills and endurance were also important aspects. Both during the preparation by BBS Stadthagen and during the stay abroad students received a cultural training to prepare for the host country's customs, but also to communicate and extend their knowledge in regard to the country's economy, culture, history and politics. Language training for job placements in France were carried out by BBS Stadthagen. Students who travelled to London, England attended a one-week language class prior to their job placement, provided by the partner institution. Staff from BBS Stadthagen accompanied the students in the first week during their stay abroad while the partner institution organized accommodation, chose companies where the students did their job placements, offered a cultural programme and did the mentoring. To ensure the quality of the exchange the participants and BBS Stadthagen signed a participant contract, which also included a learning agreement, showing rights and duties of both parties. At the end of the stay every participant was expected to evaluate the job placement together with their mentors, but each company providing a job placement was also asked to give a feedback on the student's performance by help of an evaluation sheet. Besides 28 trainees five teachers of BBS Stadthagen did a one-week job placement in Plymouth, England, in the following disciplines: - metal construction - catering - IT (system integration) - office management - retail trade The objectives for the teachers were to gain insight into the work process of a different country and brush up and extend their technical knowledge by hands-on experience as well as to improve their language and intercultural skills. These experiences should enable them as educational disseminators to arouse not only students' interest in these programmes by passing on their experiences, but also encourage colleagues to engage into European projects and further develop the European dimension of BBS Stadthagen. After successfully completing their job placements the participants received the Europass "Mobility". Information about the project and reports about participants' experiences have been published on the website of BBS Stadthagen, social media and in the local press. On a national level experiences were also shared during network meetings and training courses at Lower Saxony school authorities.