SOS-Mobilities

WHO ARE WE?

Reducing early school leaving is an important contribution to breaking the cycle of deprivation, social exclusion and poverty and is one of the headtargets of the Europe 2020 strategy.

The core task & main challenge of VET is to provide education that meets the needs of the labor market and the individual learning needs. Including special needs students (students with learning difficulties, low motivation and/or self-esteem & social obstacles) in international mobilities will provide VET with new methods of raising the self-esteem and motivation of these students and decreasing the number of dropouts.

SOS-mobility focuses on transferring existing tools and best practices in order to develop new tools that help teachers and VET providers better include special needs students in international mobilities. Such tools are currently missing or are in need of being revised among the partners and VET in general.

Below you'll find the project partners and the contact information for each, as well as links to their websites.

Axxell is a vocational secondary education provider offering 27 vocational upper secondary qualifications in 9 muncipalities in Finland since 1.8.2008. Axxell’s aim is to constantly work with the development and improvement of  the quality of education and evaluation through e.g. international projects.

Axxell is an active participant in international cooperation and is involved as both a coordinator and partner in Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation, Partnership and Mobility projects and in Grundtvig Partnership and Network projects. Axxell has a fulltime international coordinator who is responsible for international cooperation. Axxell has stated in its international strategy that it aims to provide equal opportunities to all students regardless of their background to take part in international mobilities.

CFA is dedicated to vocational training for apprentices in Motorvehicle sector (mechanics, bodyrepair or painting). Around 400 young people study in our school each year. They are taught by 25 teachers to be graduated at a basic level or higher level. Those students are apprentices. They have signed a workcontract with a company and are half time at school, half time in the company. We work hand in hand with companies and local authorities such as Ministry of Education to be as near as possible to the work market and technical needs.

For more than 15 years, we have developed mobility projects and projects linked to mobility to offer the apprentices some experiences in workplacement abroad. We have been asked by the Regional authorities to be coordinator for 10 schools for apprentices to develop mobility experiences. We also work with companies which welcome foreign students. Because of the context and the group of people, we have had to develop strategies to enhance mobility.

VMA is a relatively large vocational college in Akureyri, North-Iceland. VMA offers students 16 and older a variety of subjects and study lines. From purely academic preparatory study for university to vocational training such as building, metalwork, engineering and electrical work. The school also has a catering and cooking department and assistant nurse studies as well as fine arts, textiles and weaving.

VMA runs a special department for students with disabilities, integrating them into all the different opportunities VMA has available.

Distance education has been an important part of what VMA offers to people in the rural areas of Iceland.

VMA has around 1200 full-time and 400 part-time students in distance education.

VMA took part in the LdV ToI project POETE and the LdV ToI project WORKMENTOR. VMA has also been involved in mobility projects through Comenius and Leonardo programs.

Katholisches Jugendhaus Berlin (Ludwig Wolker Haus) e.V. is run by a voluntary board and realized by one staff member and sub-contractors. The work of LWH focuses on international exchange programs mostly within Europe. LWH seeks to provide, develop, test and propose inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogues while taking into account the plural denominational situation in Berlin. LWH focus the attention on the reality of life, experiences, moral concepts and questions concerning adolescents/young adults. It is not about promoting knowledge on certain topics among young people that are of importance, but rather the encountering of people, the dialogue, the disputes and the exchange with the others. We want to support and foster adolescents/young adults in their personal development. The expertise in this project addresses the development of materials due to our broad experience in organizing international exchange programs.