Our Pan-European Vocational Mobility Programme (PEP) is an integral part of City College Plymouth’s European Development Plan, a three year strategic plan to professionally develop our staff & enhance our learners’ employability prospects in the European labour market. Each carefully planned European activity directly meets our College’s Strategic Priorities to address labour market requirements, targeting skills gaps & developing enterprising, innovative training. This has produced a diverse programme of learning mobilities & partnership activities in vocational sectors with skills gaps & growth opportunities. It will be delivered with partners from twelve countries representing the VET training sector & enterprises. Key Objectives: • to deliver targeted staff & learner mobilities in specific vocational areas that are key growth sectors and/or those that face skills shortages • to broaden staff understanding & competence with European practices & training systems whilst meeting their professional development needs • to enable learners to gain best practice & real-life work experience, raising their aspirations & improving their employment options Activities & participants: • 24 Professional Catering & Hospitality learners will take part in 5 month traineeships in hotels in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy & Sweden • 12 Engineering & Business learners will gain hands-on experience in the workshops of MVV Energie, Germany enhancing their vocational & transversal skills • 10 Sports Development learners will learn new sports skills & enhance their coaching abilities during a two week mobility to a specialist VET school in Moreni, Romania • 10 Tourism learners will work for two weeks with hotels & a hotel school in Antalya, Turkey to learn new approaches & opportunities within the heritage tourism industry • 3 Marine Engineering learners will study Estonian boat building skills & work practices during a two week mobility to a specialist VET school in Kuressaare, Estonia • 21 tutors, trainers & Heads of Vocational Departments will accompany or visit learners on their mobilities to build their key competences & enhance their curricula with EU practices & values • 8 staff will take part in staff training activities in the Netherlands & Spain to support their professional development & their understanding of practices, policies & employment opportunities in the Creative Media sector We expect the project to have the following results & impacts: • More employable & better skilled learners, who return from their mobilities enthused, motivated to continue into further training &/or work, & in some cases, with European contacts for future employment opportunities. • Staff integrating new practices & competences into their daily work, fostering innovation in their teaching & improving the quality of our training & learning provision. • A higher profile, both within the College & within external communications, showing the benefits & results of our European activities through a wider range of channels & social media, which should make a clear positive contribution towards attracting new participants in future activities. In the longer term, we hope that all of the above will contribute to a broader understanding of & commitment to European project activities within our College demonstrated through an enhanced intercultural awareness & openness to new opportunities.