Career orientation for the European Job MarketMany firms operate globally and employee mobility is a prerequisite. Students must be prepared to be mobile, adaptable and continually learning. There is a need for them to get to know the work place in other countries. Six European countries, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Turkey, with 280 pupils, have carried out this project. All of the teachers have experience in instructing vocational preparation. We supported our students entirely according to their individual capabilities and skills so that after their schooling, they are prepared for the job market. We were able to avoid premature school leaving by helping the students realize their talents and abilities and developing these.Exploring the career training environment and comparing one’s own competence profile with the requirements for training in European businesses are important prerequisites for career choice and a successful transition to the business and work world. With the aid of the career choice passport, pupils were able to come to terms with their own personal strengths (What can I do?) and with their interests, goals and commitments (What do I want?)The following actions were undertaken: Compiling a project homepage, work with the career choice passport, preparing presentations about companies in the partner countries, compiling CV and job applications, visiting companies, the creation of an international job exchange market and skilled craft activities in the work experience field.Our pupils were motivated to apply their talents in the working environment. When pupils discover their own abilities this boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem. If we can achieve this goal, then lower grade students can participate together with higher grade students in projects without fear of inferiority. In particular, lower grade students must be encouraged so that with their abilities (e.g. in skilled trades) they can present themselves with complete confidence.With this project we prepared our pupils for the labour market and gave them the opportunity of work experience in other European countries. We want to equip our students for a life and career in a globally responsible Europe. This European dimension lied at the heart of our project and our schools.

"LET'S BUILD BRIDGES ! To reach our goals with more self-confidence thinking about the possibilities in Europe. This is how one could summarize the objective of our project. The students should take more responsibility for their own lives and believe more in their own strengths. For this reason, we, teachers from six European schools (Poland, Portugal, Croatia, Latvia, Germany and the Czech Republic), have joined forces to support students aged 11 to 17 in a joint project to discover and try out their talents and abilities through the exchange of knowledge and experience. Because active, motivated people with European life experience have higher chances of success in life. Our common goal was to teach the students how to build bridges - bridges to people from other backgrounds, cultures, to people of older generations and to people with different stories and history. In order for a bridge to be stable, you have to make careful preparations together. You need a plan, the terrain needs to be tested, foundations poured, and then piers set. Only then can a bridge be built from one bank to the other. That's why our students should first get to know themselves, strengthen their self-confidence and discover their strengths. How was this to be done? In extracurricular projects, contacts were established with local institutions where students gained new experiences. This was done in the form of volunteer work and social commitment for example, by helping elderly people, by supporting the local community, but also in sports clubs or youth centers. These valuable experiences were shared with friends from other European countries and passed on to them. With the help of the game ""Great Journey of Discovery"" (based on the 7 steps to increase effectiveness for young people by Sean Covey) the students should discover their own talents. They should use the ""Share your talent"" activity to present the discovered talents to others and motivate them to also embark on the ""Great Journey of Discovery"". The students were asked to share their (newly discovered) talents in workshops and they filmed their experiences for ""tutorials"" and presented them on the project's homepage and on our Twinspace site. Another goal of the project was to strengthen and expand digital and media abilities and to promote foreign language skills among teachers and students. Language tests were conducted, language diaries were kept and certificates were taken. It was important for the participating teachers to learn about differences in education and school systems, to benefit from each other and to take ""best practices"" back to their own schools. The project also involved the school institution, families of students and local partners. The students who participated in the project belong to the secondary level. There were students who were directly involved in the project and other people who have been indirectly part of the project: Pupils, but also teachers and extracurricular partners (together about 400). In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, we carried out activities for 30 months and produced handicraft as well as media products, e.g. ""tutorials"", multimedia presentations, films, commercials, photo exhibitions. There were 5 learning, teaching or training activities in 5 partner countries where they presented what they experienced and learned in their own countries and taught what they learned to the partners from the other countries. Unfortunately, the Covid19 pandemic changed the schedule a lot: the project had to be extended by 6 months, Germany could not attend the 5th meeting and the 6th meeting had to be held virtually. Progress was measured, analyzed and evaluated regularly; necessary changes were made and documented. Dissemination was carried out as planned, but with data protection limitations. The results of the project were partly integrated into the school curricula of the partner schools, and the contacts gained were further cultivated and used in new projects and partnerships. If a bridge is stable and strong, it leads over the widest rivers, over the deepest valleys and lasts for a very long time. We have built European bridges together with our students!"