 We are preparing for the upcoming mobility programmes in Lithuania, Poland and Greece that will be co-funded from Erasmus+ KA1 project 2024-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000221101. The mobility programmes are focused on green and social entrepreneurship, and provide an opportunity to improve entrepreneurial skills while spending some time in another country.
All students interested to participate are invited to study the terms and conditions of participation and contact us or the Erasmus+ office of their college for further information. The application form is available online:
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Going abroad for a short-term mobility programme is great - most of the participants of our 2-week mobility programmes would be happy to repeat the experience. But what about spending 3 or 4 months at a company in another country?
Long-term mobilities may be more challenging - leaving home and friends for several months, getting used to the life in another country, communicating with new colleagues and customers, managing time and finances, committing to stay, learn and work after the initial excitement of traveling and meeting new people... At the same time, these experiences are highly rewarding, not just because there is enough time to improve various skills, explore another culture and make new friends, but as a real opportunity to develop self-confidence and independence, and consider different life and career paths. In the summer 2024, in the framework of our Erasmus+ KA1 projects 2023-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000136269 and 2024-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000221101, 9 VET students have spent 3 months at different companies in Greece. They were trained and worked at high level restaurants, hotels and spas, further developing their technical skills and at the same time observing how their hosting organisations manage and organise their every-day activities, incorporate green and social practices and contribute to local economy. The participants have gained new knowledge, experience of living abroad and had an opportunity to consider what they would like to do in the future. We hope that this experience will inspire them to start own business with positive social and green impact, or to bring community- and environment-friendly ideas to any organisation they may choose to work in the future. This April, we had a pleasure to host a group of 14 Erasmus+ mobility coordinators from Occitania, France. The mobility programme was organised in the framework of Erasmus+ KA1 project 2023-1-FR01-KA1-21-VET-000125797 «Job-shadowing for the E+ referents of Occitania» funded by the French National Agency. It included a Lego Serious Play workshop “Co-designing the Vision of Erasmus+ Consortium”, visits to the local colleges - members of our mobility consortium, exchange of Erasmus+ experiences and cultural programme. The exchange of experience was interesting and useful, and we hope to continue the cooperation by organising more staff and learners mobilities in Cyprus and France.
This year more than 60 students and staff members from different VET colleges in Cyprus that belong to our mobility consortium had an opportunity to spend a period of time in another EU country, following a practical training programme focused on green and social entrepreneurship. The host organisations in Greece, Lithuania and Poland shared their expertise and best practices, and involved students and staff in local activities that helped improve communication, leadership, teamwork and other skills. The mobility programmes were co-funded by Erasmus+ projects 2022-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000064829 and 2023-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000136269. Here are some photos of the latest mobility programmes in Kaunas, Lithuania and Krakow, Poland: This year, our mobility consortium will organise mobilities in Lithuania (Kaunas), Greece (Crete) and Poland (Krakow), which will be co-funded from Erasmus+ projects 2022-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000064829 and 2023-1-CY01-KA121-VET-000136269.. The participants will have an opportunity to improve their entrepreneurial skills and learn from best practices of green and social entrepreneurship, while at the same time gaining intercultural awareness, experiencing life abroad and making new friends!
Application forms and terms and conditions of participation are already available on our website, both for short-term (2 weeks) and Erasmus Pro (3 months) mobility programmes. Following the mobility programme in Kaunas, Lithuania, we are preparing for the programme in Crete, Greece. The mobility programmes of our mobility consortium are always focused on the promotion of green and social entrepreneurship, development of entrepreneurial skills of VET students and pedagogical competences of staff members, as well as the internationalization of all participating organisations.
A mobility programme in Cordoba, Spain has just been successfully completed. Students and staff from different VET colleges followed a practical traning programme of the hosting organisation – Europe Connexion, visited local companies and learned about their business practices. We hope it will inspire our participants to start social or green businesses in the future.
Learning Detours has become an accredited coordinator of Erasmus+ mobility projects! We are looking forward to continuing the work with our mobility consortium and organizing many more high quality mobility programmes in 2021-2027.  In January-February 2020, 12 VET Students and 2 teachers from Cyprus took part in a mobility programme at Business Development Friesland in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Business Development Friesland (BDF) is a private foundation that manages its own business incubator, forms the link between business, education and government and supports individuals and organisations in realising their economic, international and social ambitions. The mobilities of VET learners focused on the development of entrepreneurial thinking, business planning/ management as well as soft skills. The programme was designed to inspire the students to consider starting their own business in the future. The focus, based on the needs and interests of the sending schools and participants, was on developing specific entrepreneurial/ soft skills, including Leadership, Teamwork, Communication, Problem Solving, Work Ethics, Flexibility/ Adaptability and Interpersonal Skills. In the case of staff mobilities, specific practical business analysis exercises were carried out with the aim of understanding different methodologies behind business model design, improving pedagogical competences and exploring possibilities of applying new methodologies in the home VET schools. EE-SKILLS 2019 is an Erasmus+ KA1 project that aims to contribute to the development of employability and entrepreneurship skills of VET students, as well as the ability of VET staff members to influence the development of these skills and competences, by offering an opportunity to acquire experience abroad, improve intercultural communication and language skills, as well as strengthen the self-confidence and independence of students and pedagogical competences of teachers. On-line shopping has taken a flight over the last years, with large digital operators with no need for physical spaces gaining ground, and with large retail chains complementing their physical shop activities with very active webshops. Smaller commerce and retail operators have great difficulties in competing in this environment.
The crisis from the last years has put additional strain on smaller commerce and retail businesses, which has led to the closure of many businesses in areas which were once the commercial centre of the town or neighbourhood. This has not only affected the commerce and retail sector, but also the hospitality and cultural businesses in these areas. A commercial area with less commerce or retail is prone to loose visitors, which in turn has a spill over effect on the hospitality and cultural businesses in the area. In many medium-sized and bigger towns, large malls on the outskirts offer a “one-stop-experience” for shopping, culture and hospitality, generating even more difficulties for the smaller ones in the centres to subsist. Not only the retail, commerce, culture and hospitality sectors are aware of this issue, but the deterioration of commercial areas, has raised interest from municipalities and civic organisations, as the reduction in retail, commerce, hospitality and cultural activities in these kind of areas results in an overall deterioration of the area, with less movements of persons. Many municipalities are looking for solutions which can help them to give new live to these kind of areas and spaces. Trends related to increased awareness among consumers about sustainability issues, the impact their decisions have on the environment, and the “slow”-movement (which advocates a cultural shift toward slowing down life's pace, and of which the “slow-food” movement is the most well-known), generate ample opportunities to bring about the so-much desired change. Proximity products and services are gaining ground. Also, consumers nowadays not only acquire a product or services, but look for an “experience” or a statement with regards to their preferences and lifestyles. If one merely wants to buy a product, going on-line is for many the obvious option, so attracting consumers/visitors to the commercial areas requires an added value, e.g. an experience, or a combination of products or services not easily found somewhere else that are sustainable, ecological and environment-friendly. Although there are already some initiatives springing up in commercial area, which cover the consumer demands with regards to sustainability, proximity and the slow movement such as shops which offer products in bulk so the consumer can buy exactly the needed amount, or those offering local ecological produce, there are many which have not adapted to this new setting. It is difficult for a small commerce, retail, hospitality or cultural/creative business to provide answers to the aforementioned challenges individually, and when they do, the impact is limited to the specific type of consumers they address, with less possibility of opening up their offerings to other types of consumers. Hence intense collaboration through the joint creation, design and implementation of new products and/or services, offering the consumer the needed experience is key. The present project aims to provide an answer to the aforementioned challenges by offering a learning programme aimed at owners, managers and self-employed persons of small retail, commerce, hospitality and cultural/creative businesses in commercial areas in decay (or at risk of) which gives them the knowledge, skills and competences to:
By acquiring these skills they will be able individually and jointly provide an answer to the demands of the sustainable conscious and digital-native consumer, open to the slow-movement concept and compete through differentiation offering a different and unique experience. |
AuthorElias Kouloumis. Archives
September 2024
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