Skip to main content
European Vocational Skills Week
News announcement29 August 2019Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Growing up with Erasmus

ionele_daniela_elena.png

At the Treboniu Laurian Technical College in Agnita, summer holidays started with a new session on mobility projects that the unit offered to students. This was for professional development and familiarisation with the work requirements of a Western European company. The project activities took place over three weeks, on the Iberian coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal. The Erasmus+ mobility project has won a total grant of €112 585.

The European Workplace Traineeship and Universal Carpenter's Practice project had a target group of 37 pupils in the 11th grade. The overall aim of this project is to increase the quality of vocational training, through internships in a European context, and increase employment opportunities at the end of studies through international cooperation and educational mobility.

Our first exit from the country: ready to travel to the unknown, but with so many hopes, fears, and emotions. Beautiful morning, early 2019, in the courtyard of the college 20 students were selected for travelling on the first coach to Budapest. Then to the international airport in the capital of Hungary – 2 902 kilometers to Porto in three and a half hours. The host city, Barcelos, is the center of an important agricultural area. People are calm, open, communicative, professional and welcoming. It gave us the feeling of being close to home.
We completed a 90-hour training course at Com-prensa, Impressão Têxtil; Fusão Print Lda; Manuel da Costa Gomes; and Indústria De Móveis (IDM) Lda. This enabled the accumulation of vital knowledge, skills, and abilities in entrepreneurial, social, civic, digital, communication in another language as well as sensitisation, self-knowledge and discovery. Practitioners appreciated the students’ discipline and seriousness. Our students have been able to practice technological operations with modern machinery and technologies, in line with European standards, and have developed job-specific behaviour that focuses on high-quality products. Beyond the language barrier, our socialisation has been rapid, effective and praiseworthy for all of our students, who have always been the first to achieve the goals, with a high and very receptive tone. The Europass certificates (participation diplomas) were visible, concrete and palpable. Beyond them remain the feelings, the frills, the unpredictable moments, the fears and the contact with something else that seemed familiar.

The Associacao intercultural amigos da mobilidade (AIAM) host association organised weekly trips and visits to tourist attractions in northern Portugal. We met people who filled our souls and hearts with joy and taught us to look around the world properly. We have had the chance to realise that we are living in a knowledgeable society, in a mobile and intercultural Europe, where our success and everything depends on the will and the ability to adapt to the new world.

Erasmus is a story about people, friendships and courage. We want you through your career to have at least one such spiritual experience and to convince you that the work of the teacher and the sacrifice for children also brings rewards.

Erasmus changes lives – open minds – VET is a choice.

Daniela Ionele Elena, Romania

Details

Involvements
Teacher/trainer