Internships as an opportunity for increasing professional and social competences

The project is implemented under the PO WER program (Operational Program Knowledge Education Development). Time of implementation: 15 months - from 15/10/2018 to 15/01/2020. The project is entirely financed from European Union funds and is completely free for all its participants. The entire grant awarded to the project is PLN 409253.65.

The project will involve the participation of 38 students and 4 teachers from the Vocational School of Economics and Gastronomy in Tarnow, including:
- 12 students in the profession of an economic technician,
- 6 students in the profession of a commerce technician,
- 12 students in the profession of nutrition technician,
- 8 students in the profession of a hospitality technician.
Our partner in the project is Tellus College. The training program for students is compliant with the school's internship program and has been agreed with a foreign partner. Tellus College has extensive experience in organizing trainings for students from different European countries.

Students will go to the UK in two groups:
1st group - 18 students (12 - economic technicians, 6 - commerce technicians) will attend a 2-week workshop,
2nd group - 20 students (12 – nutrition technicians, 8 hospitality technicians) will attend a 4-week dual training (Ascentis course and training in arranged companies).
Each group of students will be accompanied by 2 teachers.
Before leaving, students will take additional classes involving linguistic, cultural and psychological preparation.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen the European dimension of vocational education through foreign vocational training of 38 students.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- expanding knowledge about the European projects and EU values,
- developing practical skills, social competences and the participants’ mobility to increase their attractiveness in the job market,
- gaining professional experience in an international environment,
- broadening the knowledge in the scope of new technologies in the given profession,
- developing communication skills in English, particularly in vocational English,
- boosting the participants’ self-confidence to enable them to function in the European job market,
- updating vocational education for the needs of evolving European job market,
- strengthening the image of a school open to international cooperation,
- broadening the knowledge about the culture and customs of Great Britain,
- building a sense of openness to other cultures and religions,
- fighting stereotypes about other nationalities,
- increasing motivation to participate in education or training after the time spent abroad.

The main results of the project:
- gaining knowledge and vocational competences in the field of economy, commerce, catering and hospitality as well as gastronomy,
- gaining new experience in new environment,
- boosting self-confidence, attaining sense of personal responsibility and self-reliance,
- improving vocational English skills,
- gaining intercultural competences, international contacts, meeting new friends, acquiring experiences related to the culture of Great Britain,
- willingness to mobility opportunities,
- portfolio showing students' professional competences,
- multimedia presentations connected with the training – to be used during classes,
- e-dictionary of vocational English terms,
- a mini-guide to Plymouth and the surrounding area,
- a booklet with local recipes,
- the exhibition of photos taken during the training and awarding the 3 best of them,
- sharing the experiences from the training during the meetings with other students.

The project will contribute to mastering the professional and linguistic competences of students, will enable to gain experience in the international environment.
The mobility will have an impact not only directly on the participants, but also on the school community and the local environment. This will include: strengthening European identity, tolerance, and openness to other cultures, increasing self-confidence, developing a sense of responsibility, independence, foreign language and communication skills, increasing prestige and respect for our school, popularising EU projects.