EE-SKILLS 2019-2020 - LEEUWARDEN, NL

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. 
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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.