Despite Brexit, pupils from a vocational business school pulled together to help build a united "House of Europe" – and had fun at the same time.
Vocational business education and training is about much more than just practical training within a company and theoretical lessons at a vocational school. Thanks to the European funding programme Erasmus, once again this year 25 apprentices from various business professions were able to spend three weeks at a college in the British metropolis of London.
The Europass Mobility scheme provides a record of this additional qualification. Headteacher Reinhard Tischler was delighted to welcome those who took part in the project, along with plenty of representatives from various companies, to a Europass presentation ceremony held at the Berufliches Schulzentrum Matthäus Runtinger vocational business school.
A united Europe is a precious thing that must be protected and defended. The shared social, political and economic values that Europe has developed over decades are a solid foundation for living together in peace and harmony, having a strong position on the global stage, and enjoying a stable and prosperous future. But we keep coming back to the question of how can we hone this awareness and turn it into something concrete? The European Union provides funding for precisely this crucial goal under the auspices of its Erasmus+ programme. The Berufliches Schulzentrum Matthäus Runtinger consistently takes advantage of this means of financial support, which is how it managed to organise a three-week visit to the College of Central London (CCL) for 25 of its business apprentices.
Raouf Nobeebux, a course leader at CCL, gave insights into the issue of foreign trade from the perspective of the various skilled occupations the students were working towards; this formed the core of their theoretical training. Study tours provided the necessary practical application and numerous pupil-led presentations made sure they had an opportunity to use their English of course – turning it from a foreign language into a fun one. Free time was spent exploring London and discovering British culture.
The participants organised their own accommodation and learned how to live in a shared environment, which only added to the incredible wealth of experience they were able to take away with them. Thomas Schwindl, who is responsible for International Projects at the Schulzentrum, gave a presentation on the EU-funded programme and proudly thanked the 25 apprentices who were fantastic ambassadors for the companies where they are training, the school, the city of Regensburg and Germany as a whole during their time in London, and so have done their bit to bring Europe closer together.
Lukas Hofmann gave a confident and lively talk about the project from a participant's point of view, with special thanks going to the organisations where the pupils are training, for allowing them a three-week leave of absence. Dr Hermann Hage, Head of Education, Sport and Leisure, used the Europass ceremony as an opportunity to stress the importance of such stays abroad and also spoke of the need for lifelong learning. Then, showing the great respect that the occasion deserved, he presented the pupils with their Europass Mobility documents and their course certificates from CCL.
Despite Brexit, the programme goes on! Applications for the coming years have already been submitted to the Nationalagentur des Bundesinstituts für Berufsbildung (National Agency of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training).