The Ministry of Education and Culture draws a positive conclusion from the third project year of the Erasmus+ consortium for vocational schools in Saarland.
In total, 121 international mobilities for trainees, pupils, and teachers were made possible during the project period from 2024 to 2026.
Minister of Education Christine Streichert-Clivot: „Erasmus+ opens the doors of our schools to Europe. International experiences broaden horizons – professionally, linguistically, and personally. With Erasmus+, our pupils and teachers have the opportunity to get to know other work and education systems, learn from each other, and experience European cooperation in a very concrete way. Especially in an increasingly networked working world, such experiences are invaluable. That is why we are investing specifically in international educational offerings and supporting our vocational schools in making Europe tangible in everyday school life. That 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 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, the Saarland consortium was allocated EU funding amounting to 344,180 euros. More than 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 framework of the project, 50 trainee mobilities, 21 training courses for teachers, 42 job-shadowings, and eight group mobilities with 79 pupils were funded – among other destinations 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, pupils 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 the French island of La Réunion.
The advantages of staff mobilities, especially job-shadowing, were also used significantly more frequently by teachers than in previous years. They enable the exchange of innovative teaching concepts, promote international networking, and often serve as the basis for new school partnerships and future exchange programs.
For the upcoming school year 2026/27, mobilities are already being planned, among other destinations to France, Spain, Malta, or Finland. The MBK is also intensively networking with its European partners on a strategic level. In addition to 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 upcoming school year. Moreover, teacher mobilities strengthen the development 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.
