The Lübeck Chamber of Skilled Crafts (Handwerkskammer Lübeck, HWK), through its Department of International Projects and its varied activities in the areas of mobility (incoming and outgoing), transnational creative and training projects, as well as its participation in innovation transfer projects, is part of a broad network in Europe. Consequently, the project “Moin Europa!” is implemented by the HWK as the requesting and sending institution. Under the lead brand "Moin Europa!“, the HWK offers educational stays abroad for students and teachers from the trade sector. These educational stays can be categorized into two areas: 1. One two-week group mobility “German-French apprentice exchange” for apprentices from the HWK region to Poitiers, France (20 participants). Minimum age: 16 years (two employers of HWK will look after the group), no linguistic knowledge prerequisite. 2. Individual sendings: five three-week internships in Denmark for apprentices in the trade business (dual education). Minimum age: 18 years, basic knowledge of English prerequisite. 3. Pool project – nationwide request for bids for five three-week internships for apprentices in the trade business (dual education) in Denmark or Great Britain, plus additional countries, if requested by the apprentices. Minimum age: 18 years, basic knowledge of English prerequisite. Overall, 30 placements are offered for apprentices. The apprentices should be at least in the second year at the start of the mobility (or the first year in some exceptions). The project term is for two years (June 2015 to May 2017). The need for these planned mobilities abroad is a result of the continuously converging European labor, training and educational markets. This leads to an increasing need for internationalization of the trade sector and thus dual training and continuing education. An important factor for covering such needs are specialists and continuing education professionals with experience abroad, intercultural knowledge, labor market skills, and foreign languages. Thus the project “Moin Europa!” supports apprentices from the trade sector in pursuing and expanding their competencies in professional, intercultural, language and regional aspects as additional qualifications during their foreign stay. These competencies will be achieved by the apprentices through an internship in a business venue abroad (and possibly supplemented by attending a vocational or language school locally). Here the educational goals will be agreed upon and a learning agreement (ECVET instrument) will be signed. Both, the HWK as well as the host organization and the business venue make sure, through extensive support (group mobility includes staff of HWK looking after the participants, otherwise continuous contact with HWK as well as a tutor and mentor locally) and evaluation (continuous process at the project and participant level through the use of guidelines, standardized questionnaires, logbook and checklists), that the participants achieve their planned goals and feel comfortable on site. The internships are held either individually (pool project, individual sendings) or as part of group the mobility. At the end of the learning stay, the expertise and knowledge gained by all of the participants will be recorded in the Mobility-Europass (ECVET Instrument), in accordance with the ECVET principles, if applicable. The increased qualification of the apprentices will counteract the apparent lack of job specialists and professionals, and will ease the internationalization of businesses and companies. The participants are given the opportunity to make foreign contacts and to establish an international network. In addition, the internationalization of the vocational training systems will be promoted. Contacts with colleagues abroad will foster the professional exchange of ideas and a lifelong learning.