Project and InstitutionsThe WIELD (Work Placement and Intercultural Experience in London) mobility programme is a project to which the following partners are parties: the sending institution, “Institut für Fremdsprachen “(IFS) in Schweinfurt, and the receiving organisation, “ADC College” (ADC) in Harrow, London.The IFS, which has existed for 18 years, is a state approved vocational school of foreign languages, at which young people are able to undertake vocational training provided in keeping with the curriculum stipulated by the Bavarian Ministry of Education. Upon successful completion of the training course, the professional designation “State Approved Multi-Lingual Correspondence Clerk” is awarded.The “ADC College” is an institution which has been accredited by the British Council and has a Work Placement Portfolio at its disposal comprising 200 enterprises in London. It is active in the field of further training and has been playing an active role in European projects on a regular basis since 2008.In two flows, a total of 30 IFS pupils are to be provided with the opportunity to live and work in London for three weeks.The 1st week serves as a preparatory period, during which trainees receive on-site briefing concerning their traineeship. From the very beginning, trainees are able to adjust to the social environment, culture and language of their new surroundings thanks to the fact that they stay in accommodation provided by host families.In the 2nd and 3rd week, trainees are allocated work placements in various sectors, depending on their vocational profile (e.g. tourism, commerce, trade or media).Trainee profilePupils usually commence their two-year training course at the IFS immediately after obtaining the “Mittlere Reife” (approx. General Certificate of Secondary Education). The brief in-company traineeship undertaken in enterprises in the local vicinity during the first year of the course constitutes initial work experience for many pupils. When they take part in the mobility programme, trainees are in the final year of the course, they are at least 17 years of age and their command of English corresponds to the competence level B1.Motivation for the projectSubsequent to numerous discussions with careers officers and employers, the feedback they provide regarding job applications and developments on labour markets, it has become clear that there is an increasing demand for vocational school graduates possessing not only vocational maturity but also experience of having lived and worked abroad.Although the vocational profile of multi-lingual correspondence clerks caters to transnational and workplace-oriented requirements, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a two-year, predominantly academic and thus theory-based training course to comply with these demands. We, as a school, are conscious of this problem and aim to do our utmost to compensate this deficit by supplementing the course with additional training opportunities.Goals, activities, dissemination and effectWIELD is intended to cater to the needs of our pupils as well as to the demands made on them in order to improve their career prospects in the European labour market, facilitate intercultural dialogue and introduce them to entrepreneurial thought processes. In addition, trainees are to receive optimum support in the development of their personalities thanks to the immersive effect of WIELD.From the very beginning and with the assistance of their teachers, trainees are encouraged to take as much initiative as possible when assuming responsibility for preparing themselves for their stay abroad. During the project phases, both the IFS and the ADC provide trainees with numerous accompanying measures for mentoring and monitoring as well as evaluation procedures. A key role in this process is assumed by the transparency instrument ECVET.WIELD´s “disseminator effect” is achieved by way of- social media platforms- blogs on the IFS website- in-school informative events and further training- lectures and career fairs- publicity campaigns in print mediaThe sending institution profits from the WIELD mobility programme thanks to- a more distinctive profile for our school in the Main-Franconia region- increased attractiveness as a vocational institution with stronger emphasis on workplace orientation- additional quality of imparted skills and thus a better qualification for our graduates- raised awareness of the mobility programme within our school- more extensive networking with international- improved and more effective quality management through standardised and multifarious evaluating measuresIn keeping with our central principle “strengthen your European competence with us”, we intend to shape our pupils for the long term, equip them with international skills and prepare them for the European labour market. Moreover, we are convinced that our WIELD project will bring us a good deal closer to achieving this goal.