International mobility at vocational schools further expanded: Final report on the Erasmus+ consortium
The Ministry of Education and Culture draws a positive conclusion on the third project year of the Erasmus+ consortium for vocational schools in Saarland. A total of 121 international mobilities for trainees, pupils, and teachers were made possible during the project period 2024 to 2026.
Minister of Education Christine Streichert-Clivot:
“Erasmus+ opens the doors to Europe for our schools.
International experiences broaden horizons – professionally, linguistically, and personally. With Erasmus+, our students and teachers have the opportunity to get to know other work and education systems, to learn from each other, and to experience European cooperation very concretely. Especially in an increasingly interconnected working world, such experiences are invaluable. That is why we are deliberately investing in international educational opportunities and supporting our vocational schools in making Europe tangible in everyday school life. This strengthens – for school, for life, and for the future.”
Since 2022, the Ministry of Education and Culture has been accredited as the consortium leader in the EU education program Erasmus+. The schools benefit from a significantly simplified access to European funding without having to apply for their own Erasmus+ accreditation. The Ministry takes over the organization and administration of the program. For the third project year, EU funding of 344,180 euros was available to the Saarland consortium. Over 87 percent of this was used by the participating schools. All 20 vocational training centers belong to the Erasmus+ network or are accredited themselves and regularly send their pupils, trainees, and teachers to gain practical experience and experience Europe.
Within the project, 50 trainee mobilities, 21 teacher trainings, 42 job shadowings, and eight group mobilities with 79 students were funded – among others to France, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Sweden, Poland, Luxembourg, and Spain. For example, trainees from the Commercial Vocational Training Center Saarbrücken gained practical experience in Dublin, students from the Edith Stein School completed internships in day care centers in Riga and Warsaw, while trainees from the Social Care Vocational Training Center Saarbrücken completed a multi-week internship in an école maternelle in the Metz area. Further mobilities led, for example, to Cavaillon in southern France or to the French island of La Réunion.
The advantages of staff mobilities, particularly job shadowing, were also used significantly more often by teachers than in previous years. They enable exchanges about innovative teaching concepts, promote international networking, and often serve as a basis for new school partnerships and future exchange programs.
Mobilities are already being planned for the coming school year 2026/27, including to France, Spain, Malta, or Finland. On a strategic level, the MBK is also intensively networking with its European partners. Besides a delegation trip to Poland, together with 19 representatives from Saarland schools, the existing partnership with the Académie de Montpellier was further expanded. Together, activities in the fields of curative education, office management and administration, hospitality and gastronomy, as well as painters and varnishers are planned for the coming school year. In addition, teacher mobilities strengthen the establishment of new partnerships and the planning of joint school projects.
The goal remains to enable even more trainees and teachers to gain international learning and professional experiences and to sustainably strengthen the European dimension of vocational education in Saarland.
