Erasmus+ matters for YOU
Erasmus+ is for everyone
The Erasmus+ programme is for people like you who want to develop professionally, train for a new job, gain new knowledge, travel, learn new skills, volunteer to help others, ensure a brighter future for you and your children.
Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond.
When we left the programme we lost all of these opportunities for ourselves, our kids and grand kids. The UK's Turing Scheme was meant to be a replacement but only covers a small slice of what Erasmus+ offered.
The UK left the Erasmus+ programme, not because of Brexit - in fact when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, he promised we'd stay in the programme. Leaving was a choice, not a Brexit consequence.
Read the new EM UK report
This comprehensive report, 'Unlocking Opportunity: Why the UK Needs Erasmus', explores how Erasmus+ transformed education across the UK and why rejoining the programme is crucial for students, educators, and communities nationwide.
You can read the report online, or download a copy here: Read the report
Joining Erasmus+ > one of the easiest and most popular moves the government could make to rebuild relations with Europe and give us back our lost opportunities.
Erasmus+ in Staffordshire
Prior to leaving the programme in 2020, the people of Staffordshire benefited from many successful Erasmus+ projects.
Here are a few examples...
School Exchange Partnership
Project 2018-1-DE03-KA229-047319.
Entrepreneurship, career guidance / youth unemployment; Creativity and culture
Enhancing career opportunities for teenagers
Project Aims:
To develop students skills in creative design and to build an awareness of the scientific, technical and business considerations needed for entrepreneurial enterprise through the medium of fashion and textile design.
Participating countries:
Germany and the UK
Local involvement:
A Staffordshire High School based in Cheadle took part in this project with a high school based in Dahn, Rhineland, Germany
Benefits for the students: The project enabled them to:
- Develop creative and manual skills when designing and creating fashion accessories (handbags, shoes, jewellery, belts etc.)
- Learn about technical and scientific requirements of jobs and research in the field of textile engineering, theoretically and practically
- Increase awareness and understanding of how to develop a product in creative terms and in business terms.
- Meet and talk to creative, scientific, practical and entrepreneurial people from the fashion industry.
- Gain entrepreneurial awareness regarding costs of materials, time of production, possible customers, both local and worldwide.
- Find out about possible education and qualifications in the field of textile designing and engineering, particularly in the regions where both schools are located.
- Develop language skills thanks to the exchange links between the two schools.
- Develop and refine tolerance, mutual understanding and cultural awareness thanks to the exchange links between the two schools.
- Plan and conduct interviews and film scenes for a video documentary, edit and produce a video documentary.
Vocational education and training (VET)
Project 2019-1-CZ01-KA202-061371 2109.
Workplace safety - Construction, Forestry, Agriculture
Statistics showed an unacceptable workplace fatality rate associated with skilled operations undertaken in the construction, agriculture & forestry sectors.
It was also known that high risks e.g. falls from height & machinery crush injuries are better prevented through high quality training provision.
Project Aims:
To facilitate best practice & high quality instructional standards & techniques amongst VET providers & skills trainers, ultimately to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities
Local involvement:
A Staffordshire Tree Care Specialist company based in Cheadle took part in this project co-ordinated from the Czech Republic
Participating countries:
Czechia, Slovenia, UK, Latvia, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Romania
Measurable outcomes:
- An innovative formal standardised European skills trainer qualification, registration & CPD process with the support of ABA International was developed.
- Innovative training materials for the benefit of trainers & trainees were developed.
- Early signs are that workplace fatality & incident rates & associated economic and personal costs within specific sectors of agriculture & forestry are reducing, although this is a longer term goal.
Vocational education and training (VET)
Project 2017-1-UK01-KA202-036730.
Sustainable Accounting Practices for SMEs
Methods & tools to assist companies adopt sustainable practices were “on-size fits all” and aimed at large organisations, leaving SMEs lacking in knowledge regarding sustainability, what it is, how best to adopt it and how to account for it.
Project Aims:
To encourage adoption of sustainability for SMEs, to make it easier for them to adopt and gain business benefits: cost savings (e.g. energy efficiency, waste & recycling, food, travel, water), marketing and employee engagement.
Local involvement:
Staffordshire University co-ordinated this project as part of its active “up-skilling of SMEs in the local area, one of the participants was an SME Website developer in Edinburgh.
Participating countries:
UK, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Spain
Outcomes:
- An analysis of awareness of SMEs of sustainable accounting and the benefits of corporate sustainability practices in terms of cost savings, marketing and employee engagement.
- An online training course designed and developed to address the missing knowledge and provide the expertise and tools for the adoption of sustainable accounting practices by SMEs.
- A framework for recognising the skills and achievement of learners.
- Roll out of the training course through growing network of adopters providing a single point of access hub for information and support.
Vocational education and training (VET)
Project 601115-EPP-1-2018-1-EL-EPPKA2-SSA.
Matching skills in a growing European Silver Economy
The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training identified a skills gap in those providing elderly care services, many of whom worked in the “grey market” outside formally regulated care home or agencies and lacked the technical skills to keep up to date in an ever changing environment.
Project Aims:
To develop and pilot-test a standardised European vocational education and training (VET) programme specifically tailored to informal caregivers of the elderly and leading to recognised certification. In this way to contribute to a reduction of undeclared work in the sector and facilitate improved social inclusion through better jobs for the employees and a better quality of life for the elderly. More details and here .
Local involvement:
Staffordshire University and Age UK Birmingham were two of the eleven partners in this project co-ordinated by a Greek educational institute.
Participating countries:
Greece, Spain, Germany, Czechia, UK
Measurable Outcomes:
- Two fresh, ICT-driven curricula for professionals and atypical/undeclared caregivers, that have been accredited by a European Organization and are available in a well-structured, user-friendly e-learning platform.
- The first Code of Conduct for elderly caregivers.
- A psychometric tool for the assessment of atypical caregivers.
It doesn't have to be this way
We don't have to rejoin the EU to join Erasms+
Six non-EU countries like Norway and Turkey are
not EU members but are full members of Erasmus+
The European Movement are campaigning to join Erasmus+.
Please read on to find out
how you can support our campaign and build a better future for our families and the country.
Here's what you can do
1. Learn more about what we have lost
Read our Erasmus+ briefing to understand how much we have lost and why we should join Erasmus+
You can find out what the Erasmus+ programme is, how the UK benefited when we were members, why we left, how the Turing scheme fails as a replacement and why we should rejoin. There's also three short videos for you to look at.
2. Know the facts
There's a lot of myths around the Erasmus+ scheme, many spread by journalists and politicians who should know better. To help separate truth from fiction we have prepared a short 'myth buster'.
Check out our Erasmus+
3. Sign our petition
Sign the petition now and help bring back Erasmus+ to empower people with invaluable opportunities to study, work, and experience life across Europe.
You can show your support and add your weight to our campaign by signing our petition here: Sign petition