EAfA Webinar Integrating mobility in Apprenticeships: from theory to Practice
20/12/2023
On 14 December 2023, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) organised a webinar to explore how to support stakeholders for quality mobility opportunities. The exchange offered the opportunity to discover the new EAfA Toolkits on the mobility of apprentices and share good practices from stakeholders. EARLALL Secretariat participated as a member of the Alliance.
Ana Carero, Deputy Head of Unit, B3 Unit – Vocational Education and Training, DG EMPL, European Commission and Jacqueline Pacaud, Head of Sector, B2 Unit – Schools and Multilingualism, DG EAC, European Commission, introduced the current EU initiatives and the new EAfA Toolkits on the mobility of apprentices. Ana Carero presented the toolkit, a new online resource which provides custom step-by-step guidance to engage in mobility opportunities, across the whole mobility lifecycle. There are two versions of the toolkit one for apprentices and another one for companies and VET providers. Furthermore, the toolkit aims to support the EU Mobility Package target of getting 15% of VET learners to join a mobility programme. In addition to this, the Erasmus+ Policy Experimentations includes funding to support structures and networks for apprentices’ mobility.
The panel discussion was focused on the exchange of the key steps to boost quality mobility opportunities for apprentices with Lena Müller, Apprentice Lead EMEA, SoftwareOne (Germany), Susanne Klimmer, Managing Director of the Internationaler Fachkräfteaustausch (International Young Workers Exchange – Austria) and Giuseppina Tucci, Secretary General, Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions4 (OBESSU) and chair of the European Apprentices Network (EAN).
Panellists shared that the main barriers to promoting mobility opportunities for apprentices are the access to information, both for learners and companies, the administrative burdens, the fear of the unknown and language barriers. Participants agreed that navigating national legal obligations and differences among countries is one of the biggest challenges that employers face in offering mobility opportunities. Giuseppina Tucci highlighted that learners (according to the Erasmus in School project survey) perceive mobility more for their personal development than as an opportunity to increase their employability.
EAfA Community of Practices
The webinar was closed with an introduction to the new EAfA Community of Practices which complement and deepen the existing EAfA networking opportunities, and aim to stimulate interactivity and bottom-up engagement among EAfA members sharing similar interests. EARLALL is co-leading, the Community on the Role of Cities and Regions in fostering apprenticeship, together with Fundación Bertelsmann and the Metropolitan City of Rome.
The webinar recording is available here
EAfA toolkit on apprentice mobility
The first EAfA toolking on apprentice mobility aims to help apprentices, VET providers, and companies to gain a better understanding of mobility, and provide step-by-step advice on how to maximise benefits and avoid pitfalls across the three main stages of mobility: initiation, implementation, and integration.
The EAfA Toolkit on the Mobility of Apprentices will provide you with:
- An introduction to the topic, by providing background information and outlining the key stakeholders involved and their role
- Guidance, resources, good practice examples, and self-assessment tools
There are two version available:
