Project AbstractCONTEXT/BACKGROUND.The idea of the BETOE+ Project rises out of the analysis of the daily challenges European high schools teachers have to face nowadays. From our teaching experiences, it emerges that the most widespread deficiencies among students aged 15 to 19 are the loss of enthusiasm about their future and the lack of connection of their studies to the needs of the labour market. In a society where the youth (aged 15-24) unemployment rate rose from 10,0 % in 2012 to 43,2.% in 2014 (ISTAT) students consider the learning experience too far from real life and not linked to the world of work. In this changing and complex context, teachers have multiple roles to perform : they are expected to be not only knowledge transmitters but also coaches, facilitators, learning mentors, guidance counselors. To fulfil all these roles professionally, teachers need to be competent in their responsibility towards their students both inside and ouside the classroom at all levels: local, national and international level.OBJECTIVES It is our project priority to create a group of highly motivated, well-prepared school professionals, closely linked to the world of enterprises and business and able to meet the challenge of bridging education and training to employment in a European perspective at the same time helping students increase their self-esteem, employability and entrepreneurship.We want to offer a multi-level/inter-institutional training to a group of our talented professionals : they will spend one week abroad job shadowing VET teaching techniques, exploring models of apprenticeship /Internship and experiencing job placement techniques at VET schools and organisations, enterprises and training centers in Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.Upon their return they will be able to transmit their improved/acquired skills to create a quality “Career Guidance and Counseling Service” and a quality "Internship Service"(One-Stop-Shop model)at school in order to reduce the GAP between Education,Training and Employment.Experience and expertise of grant holders will lead to a higher degree of innovation in teaching and research, as well as an increase of international cooperation capacity at both personal and institutional level.NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS : 15 in 3 fluxesPROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS : Participants are all VETschools teachers DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIESThe Project planned activities are the following:- Job shadowing ( consisting in peer coaching, peer learning and peer review activities ) /observation activities at local VET Schools and Universities on subjects of the teachers' Sectors;- Workshops of self-reflection activities on teaching- learning practices in the field of Career Guidance and Counseling ;- Job shadowing/observation activities at Enterprises /Hotels hosting learners on their apprenticeship;- Job shadowing/observation activities at Training centers/Job centers.TITLE OF THE TRAINING ACTIVITY IN THE LANGUAGE OF TUITION : BETOE+ Bridging Education and Training to EmploymentTYPE AND ORIGIN OF THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES: JOB SHADOWING/OBSERVATION PERIOD aimed at VET StaffTHEMATIC FIELDS OF THE TRAINING: Career guidance and counseling;Combating failure in education; Fight against school failure & link school and work; Employment support. Entrepreneurship.LANGUAGE USED FOR THE TRAINING: English LANGUAGE VERSION(S) IN WHICH MATERIALS WILL BE PRODUCED: English- ItalianMETHODOLOGY The project will make use of Peer Learning Activities ( PLAs),related to Peer Coaching and Peer Reviewing Activities in a variety of higly motivating European contexts both formal and non-formal, offering full immersion into a European socio-economic environment.RESULTS AND IMPACT Remarkable impacts and results are expected on teachers participating/ beneficiaries, on the participating organisations, on the Community and the Territory.A strong impact on the teachers' motivation, involvement and competences expressed in terms of KSA is expected followed by a consequent effect on the learners' outcomes and sense of entrepreneurship as well as a "cascade" effect on the School Learning community/Professional Community in terms of sharing of "good practices", innovative tools and methodologies regarding Career Guidance and Internship Organisation coming from an international training environment.POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS The potential longer benefits will derive from dramatic changes : an Educational Change in the School Curricula design, in the sense of an the alignment of the Curricula to the labour market requirements , on the Guidance, Counseling and Internship activities and on the promotion of teachers' continuing education; a change in the Institutional Commitment and in the Educational Policies as to the promotion of an active liasing process between Education and Training and the world of work, enterprises and business in order to create successful synergies in favour of youth employment.