Celebrating National Women in Engineering Day
Posted: June 23, 2014 Filed under: Apprentices, Leonardo, Mobility | Tags: Apprenticeships, Leonardo Mobility, national women in engineering day, VET, vocational education Leave a comment“Education and experience with the correct attitude will unlock a world of choices for your career.” Jacqui Snow, apprentice.
Jacqui Snow is a mechanical engineering apprentice who took part in a Leonardo Mobility project in May. Jacqui and a group of five other apprentices travelled to Mannheim in Germany to do a two-week work experience placement with the German company MVV. Germany is one of the leading countries in the world for engineering and Jacqui was keen to find out where many of the “best products, vehicles or inventors have been created.” Whilst on her mobility placement, she took a leading role in the MVV apprenticeship workshops, developed her German language skills and helped to make a beach buggy.
Jacqui and her fellow apprentices with their beach buggy mid-build
The placement, organised by City College Plymouth, allowed Jacqui to build on her technical knowledge acquired through her qualifications: a BTEC in Mechanical Engineering and an Advanced Apprenticeship in Manufacturing, Technology and Science. Jacqui also felt that the project developed her communication skills, essential for employability such as team building activities and being confident with presentation skills.
Jacqui says:
“This programme has strengthened my CV and has given me experience of working in engineering across European countries… (It) has proven that I can work to a high standard within a team, as well as being a team leader… I have learnt a great amount about myself, including how to develop my workshop working techniques and I will be able to talk about this in interviews with future employers.”
Jacqui currently holds an unconditional place to study Mechanical Engineering at Plymouth University from September – a real success story!
If you are, like Jacqui, a female engineer taking part in a project funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme, don’t forget to get involved by tweeting us your stories @erasmusplusuk!
Today is Europe day!
Posted: May 9, 2014 Filed under: Erasmus+, Mobility | Tags: Erasmus+, Europe, Europe day, leonardo, sport Leave a commentHappy Europe Day! As the rest of Europe joins to mark this annual event, we thought we’d share how we have been celebrating the new programme and looking ahead to the successes Erasmus+ can bring over the next seven years.
What is Europe Day?
Europe Day, or Friday 9 May, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. It also marks the anniversary of the historical Schuman Declaration, which contained a proposal to outline the beginning of what is now the European Union. To celebrate, the EU’s institutions are opening their doors to the public in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg cities.
But here in the UK we have also been celebrating – and what better way to do so than with our delivery teams which just so happen to be named after the three European cities. This week we took part in a number of activities (including cake baking), on a sunny afternoon in Birmingham and raised money for our charity of the year, the Youth Cancer Trust. This was not only to celebrate Europe Day, but to welcome some new colleagues to the Birmingham Erasmus+ team as they join the programme at a busy and exciting time with applications now received under both Key Action 1 and Key Action 2 for the 2014 Call.
Our teams: Strasbourg, Luxembourg… and Brussels!
The benefits of Erasmus+
The focus of employability and skills from the LLP has continued into Erasmus+ to support youth employment and improve Europe’s competitiveness. One real life example of this can be seen through sports travel company, AMsportstours Leonardo project, where participants from AMsportstours’ soccer schools undertook a two week work placement at the Olympic Institute in Stockholm. Learners gained hands-on experience in a motivational environment and developed their coaching skills while increasing their performance level.
“I completed the two week placement in May and this for me was the experience of a lifetime, the progress I made in two weeks is unbelievable…” – Robbie Lang, Mobility participant
Erasmus+ funding can help apprentices go further
Posted: March 3, 2014 Filed under: Apprentices, Erasmus+, Leonardo, Mobility | Tags: apprentices, Apprenticeships, Erasmus+, ErasmusPlus, National Apprenticeship Week 2014 Leave a comment
Today marks the start of National Apprenticeship Week 2014 (3-7 March), an annual week that aims to raise the profile of apprenticeships amongst employers, individuals, teachers, parents and the media.
Now in its seventh year, National Apprenticeship Week 2014 will celebrate ‘Great Apprenticeships’ and highlight not only the personal career development benefits of apprenticeships, but also the positive impact apprenticeships have on businesses and the wider economy.
As National Apprentice Week celebrates its seven year anniversary, we’re marking the end of an amazing seven years of the Leonardo programme, which helped send over 170 apprentices on high quality work placements in another European country to improve their skills and employability in 2013 alone.
Benefits for apprentices, businesses and colleges
For Deeside College, the Leonardo programme gave them the opportunity to enhance their apprenticeship scheme to better support both Welsh apprentices and engineering companies involved in the scheme. It also helped them to develop better partnerships and networks with companies across Europe, and gave the staff involved a greater understanding of new and emerging technologies.
“The experience of the Leonardo Mobility Project has given me an excellent insight into what working life is like in another country / culture. I gained great confidence in taking part in the project, and I think it is vital more people take part so that they can learn in a different environment and put into perspective what their working lives are like compared with the experiences of others.” Leonardo Mobility Apprentice
Shrewsbury College’s Motor Vehicle Students in Turkey.
The Leonardo Mobility Project also enabled seventeen and eighteen-year-olds studying City & Guilds Level 2 courses in Motor Vehicle Technology at Shrewsbury College to put their skills into practice and work on some of the world’s most expensive luxury cars. The funded work placements with Lamborghini, Porsche and Bentley in Istanbul helped the mechanic students gain a competitive edge when looking for work in the automotive sector back in the UK.
Future funding opportunities
The Leonardo programme’s funding may have come to an end, but funding opportunities for apprentices to participate in training placements in another European country will continue under Erasmus+, the new EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport. Over the course of the next seven years, Erasmus+ will help send thousands of UK apprentices on work experience placements that will:
- Broaden their knowledge of new techniques that they would not have the opportunity to experience in the UK
- Enhance their scope of learning opportunities
- Increase their skills, independence and confidence
- Increase their employability prospects.
“We want to encourage more young people in the UK to take full advantage of the grants and opportunities available through Erasmus+.” Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth
There are just two weeks left for vocational education and training organisations to apply for Mobility for VET Learners and Staff funding under Erasmus+ in 2014. Apply now via the UK Erasmus+ website and help give your apprentices a European edge.
A bright start to 2014…
Posted: January 3, 2014 Filed under: Erasmus+, Mobility | Tags: ECVET, Erasmus+, Europe 2020, Leonardo Mobility, New Year Honours List 2012, vocational education Leave a comment
2013 was another successful year for Paul Baron and Bhagavat Educational Trust
Manager of Bhagavat Educational Trust and experienced LLP promotor Paul Baron is no stranger to the spotlight. He recently received a 2013 Charity Times Award for outstanding individual achievement and was awarded an MBE in the 2012 New Years Honours List for services to vulnerable children.
It is therefore with no surprise that we learned of his invitation to present and share his knowledge of good practice at the ‘Role of VET in Making Education More Inclusive conference’ held in Vilnius, by the EU Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We found out more about what happened at the event in the Lithuanian capital and look at key themes in Vocational Education and Training on the horizon for 2014.
Making education more inclusive
The event discussed European and national training VET strategies exploring ways to make education more inclusive and contributing towards meeting the EU Education and Training 2020 strategy targets. Bhagavat Educational Trust, which was set up in 1997 to further education and relieve poverty in developing countries, was chosen as an example of best practice with an input on two out of three workshops that were hosted as part of the conference. The first workshop Enhancing VET provision to meet the needs of people with fewer opportunities and the third looking at widening access to continuing VET.
Vocational skills vital to the UK’s growth
Posted: December 16, 2013 Filed under: Apprentices, Erasmus+, Leonardo, Mobility | Tags: erasmus plus, Skills Show, vocational education Leave a comment
This year I was lucky enough to be invited to not only attend The Skills Show at the NEC in Birmingham, but I was also invited to the Opening Ceremony. The Skills Show is the UK’s largest skills and career event and covered the space of 7 football pitches this year! It showcased the fantastic skills that we have in the UK (over 700 UK finalists were competing in the World Skills Competition), as well as the opportunities available to develop these skills – from Further Education to apprenticeships. For me, it created a truly inspiring atmosphere.
Celebrating vocational skills
The representation of apprenticeships, and other forms of vocational training at The Skills Show, was phenomenal. Watching the World Skills finalists compete was amazing – such talent! The five skill areas on show were the Built Environment, Cultural & Creative Arts, Engineering, IT & Business Administration and Social & Professional Services. What I found really refreshing was the opportunity to get involved and try out the different skills, from optometry to broadcasting with the BBC, floristry to forensic science, and cake decorating to house building! There was also the opportunity to attend a “Spotlight Speaker” session, hosted not only by industry leaders but also by apprentices, giving a real life take on what it is actually like to be working and earning whilst training.
Shaping the UK’s skills future
Having worked in the Leonardo team for five years now I am a true advocate of Vocational Education and Training. It’s encouraging to think that events such as The Skills Show will continue to shape the UK’s skills future.
Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, which starts on 1 January 2014, will have a strong focus on skills and employability. The new programme will build on the success of the Leonardo da Vinci programme to develop not only the competencies of individuals throughout Europe but it will also broaden their understanding of the policy and practices that underpin their learning. It’s unbelievable to think that Erasmus+ will enable over 650,000 vocational students across Europe to complete part of their education and/or training abroad over the course of the next 7 years!
For more information on Erasmus+ in the UK, go to www.erasmusplus.org.uk and subscribe to our blog for updates.
About our author
Thank you to Lauren Beech who wrote this week’s skills focus post. Lauren is a Senior Project Manager in the Leonardo Mobility team.
The spirit of entrepreneurship
Posted: November 20, 2013 Filed under: Mobility | Tags: Entrepreneurship, Global Entrepreneurship Week Leave a commentIn this time of financial uncertainty many people are seeking to become their own boss and to create endless possibilities for themselves in the true spirit of entrepreneurship. But what is entrepreneurship and how can it be developed? This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week – a campaign encouraging the next generations of entrepreneurs to consider starting their own business – and an opportunity for you to get information on what help and resources are available to get you closer to your dream…
What is entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is defined as the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit.
Some people would say they are born with entrepreneurial skills such as vision, drive and resilience; but for others entrepreneurial skills can be fostered through life experiences. Day to day interactions can develop your communication skills, taking a language course can develop your linguistic skills and overall impact on your self confidence; driving you to succeed.
Sustainability equals employability
Posted: November 8, 2013 Filed under: Leonardo, Mobility | Tags: employability, EU2020, youth unemployment Leave a commentAs a fresher in 2009 studying a BA in Fine Art the prospect of going to University was not just a rewarding opportunity, but a safety net as the economy gave way to recession. With each year there were growing concerns for those leaving education and their future job prospects. Five years on and with the experiences gained during my time at university I’m five months into my role at Ecorys and the future for similar young job hunters looks a lot brighter.
So how does our economy recover and create jobs?
In 2010 the European Commission launched the EU2020, a ten year growth plan to create conditions for a more competitive economy with higher employment. This growth strategy has five key targets that are to be achieved by the end of the decade including both Employment and Education.
To further support this process the European Commission set out a number of recommendations to the UK to continue its recovery and work towards the EU2020 goal. With youth unemployment figures over double the overall unemployment rate the growing concern is creating and sustaining a continuous growth of jobs. Catch 22 though, in particular for graduates and young adults in the UK, is the concern that:
40% of employees are under or over qualified and lack the sufficient skills,
with 37.2% of low-skilled 15-24 year olds unemployed
One solution to this is closing the skills gap by placing more emphasis on opportunities through apprenticeships and internships. A success story for this is Tim Hall, who we featured back in August when he appeared as one of three young job-seekers interviewed on BBC1’s Look North. Tim had been invited to interview for Change Agents UK’s Leonardo Mobility Programme placement as an Audio-Visual Researcher. Were pleased to say he was successful and since followed his development and the opportunity gained from his placement.
Tim Hall
“Looking through a wide range of jobs I came across an internship opportunity that gave me the chance to combine environmental conservation and film/TV business together. Working with Think Young lobbying for young people to be heard in European affairs, I’m specifically looking at Environmental issues and concerns and solutions people have.” Mobility participant Tim Hall
5 Top Tips to Recognise Your Learners Achievements
Posted: October 15, 2013 Filed under: Apprentices, Leonardo, Mobility, Thematic Networking | Tags: apprentices, ECVET, european commission, Leonardo Mobility, Lifelong Learning Programme Leave a commentAs a National Agency we’ve learnt a lot running the ECVET Experts project. Since January 2012, over 70 organisations have met with Experts across the UK for free to learn more about the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). They have been able to discuss how ECVET principles can be implemented to recognise learners’ achievements.
If you’re starting out on your Leonardo Mobility journey, thinking about how you can keep up-to-date with current practices, or wanting to improve your established systems our top tips on implementing ECVET could be useful to you.
Top Tip 1: Plan, plan, plan!
It’s really useful to identify learning outcomes that you expect to be achieved during placement. If your learners are working towards a qualification have a look to see if there’s any specific units learners can undertake, or work towards.
Keeping good communication open with your learners and partners is another top tip. You might already have a Partner Agreement in place but have you thought about stepping it up to a Memoranda of Understanding? This is an agreement between you and your partner about procedures, methods of assessments and can cover more than one mobility period. Training Agreements can also be exchanged for, or made more in line with, a Learning Agreement between the learner, partner and your organisation setting out what will happen, the expectations of the learner and what they should expect in terms of assessment and recognition and validation. Have a look at our ECVET-Mobility glossary for more on the differences between ECVET and Leonardo Mobility documents.
Making mobility possible in Erasmus+
Posted: September 20, 2013 Filed under: Erasmus+, Leonardo, Mobility | Tags: Cumbernauld College, Erasmus+, Leonardo Mobility, Lifelong Learning Programme, vocational education Leave a commentErasmus+ the new education, training, youth and sport programme, aims to improve the skills and employability of Europe’s generations, through providing a range of mobility opportunities to study and train abroad. To take you through some of the key changes to mobility in the new programme, we thought we would ask an experienced promotor to share the benefits they have already seen from adopting organisation-led mobility, and some of the other new features of mobility in Erasmus+…
Read the latest edition of edUKation
Posted: September 13, 2013 Filed under: Erasmus+, Grundtvig, Leonardo, Lifelong Learning Programme, Mobility, Thematic Networking, Transversal 1 CommentThe latest edition of edUKation is now available to download. edUKation is our quarterly newsletter containing updates from the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes.
In this edition
In issue 22 you can read about how Leonardo Mobility participant Raymond Fisher secures his dream job as a chef in France. You can also find out the latest information on Erasmus+, the new education, training, youth and sport programme, as well as the following articles:
- Making the future possible conference
- Diary of study visit participants
- Celebrating Thematic Networking
Download issue 22 of edUKation
Subscribe to edUKation
You can sign up to our mailing list to receive edUKation straight to your inbox. You can also sign up for our monthly e-flashes for the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes: http://www.graphicmail.co.uk/rwcode/subscribe.aspx?SiteID=5307&SID=6&Email=
Previous editions
You can find previous editions of edUKation in our resource centre.
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