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Mobility Opportunities Boosting Investment in Lanarkshire to Inspire VET learners To Improve Employability and Skills
Start date: Jul 1, 2014, End date: Jun 30, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

New College Lanarkshire was formed by the merger of Cumbernauld College, Coatbridge College and Motherwell College who between them have managed a large portfolio of mobility programmes that add value to the student learning journey. They have delivered various IVT, PLM and VETPRO projects that have supported more than 2,800 students and staff since 2002. This has enabled students to secure employment or progress to higher level qualifications and has a further impact of identifying opportunities for staff to improve their continuous professional development and ultimately enhance the student experience. The main objective of the MOBILITIES project is designed around Employability and the attainment of additional relevant vocational skills that are validated and recognised under the ECVET related goals and principles. The MOBILITIES project seeks to improve retention, achievement and attitude and give participants a greater understanding and knowledge of their vocational area from an EU perspective. It will also give them with the opportunity to enhance their vocational learning within an EU work placement that will add value to their development by integrating invaluable soft and employability skills, language development and cultural awareness that will significantly enhance their potential to enter the labour market The North Lanarkshire region experiences high unemployment and significant levels of deprivation and many of the students who enrol at the College have come with little or no qualifications. The MOBILITIES project will support 276 VET participants, 51 accompanying adults and 5 staff training assignments across the three campuses and will target individuals who face multiple, complex barriers to entering the labour market such as a lack of qualifications, low self-esteem, lacking confidence and motivation and have little or no employability skills. The project will also seek address of particular barriers to participation in mobility activities such as inexperience of traveling abroad, lack of linguistic skills, lack of communication and interpersonal skills and a lack of confidence. The main activities we are planning to organise is to facilitate the Learning Mobility of Individuals from VET who are seeking to enhance their learning experience and improve their employability. This will be achieved by the provision of a two or three week work experience with one of our identified partners that will offer participants an extension to their learning with additional language development, cultural interaction and experience of working in an EU country that will further improve their employability and support them in achieving their maximum potential. At NCL we have a well-defined Work Plan that covers all aspects of the project life cycle for managing the mobility experience that is delivered by our Business Development Mobility Team in conjunction with the relevant faculty staff and experienced sending and host partners who will participate in the project. They will bring a wealth of experience to the MOBILITIES project to ensure the project meets the needs of the participants. This team are involved at all stages of the programme life cycle from recruitment and selection, acting as accompanying adults to monitoring and evaluation. We will build on each of the former colleges’ existing strengths and good practice in delivering a high quality mobility experience and ensure a consistently high standard to meet or exceed learner, employer and other stakeholder expectations. The greatest impact of the mobility experience is that it has transformed the lives of individuals from underprivileged, poorly educated, socially excluded and conflicting communities, to boost self-esteem and promote social integration and a healthy lifestyle. It also enabled them to enjoy the enriching experience of living in another country and developing their vocational skills and competencies and therefore enhancing their employability. From a long term perspective, we have fostered a close working relationship with our sending and host partners and sharing vital knowledge and experience helps to continuously improve our mobility exchanges as well as the expertise of the participants and accompanying staff. The Cumbernauld Campus is currently the holder of a Mobility Certificate and this will be the benchmark for the long-term commitment to continuous improvement and the strategic approach of New College Lanarkshire to incorporate mobility in its activities.
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