Mobility Strengths

• It was brilliant. The group of people who attend the Erasmus+ programme – they really connected, our group. So basically our connections are growing – we have connections to those people; we text and catch up together. In our group was 16 people, plus the owner of the company and all the companies involved. So that was your network. So that was a nice experience because I’m from

Poland, and at the time I was in college I couldn’t really communicate at the level where I would feel confident enough to catch up with all the others. I always felt there’s a barrier to me from a language point of view, and then because I’m older than them, why would they possibly want to catch up with me? It was great because after the placement, it kinda made me more open-minded.

I found myself more like a part of the group. When we got back to school we had more to talk about.

We had connections, which the others hadn’t. We had this sort of bond that I felt was great. I was like, maybe I’m older and I’m not fluent in English but it was so cool to see those people kind of recognise me. I was visible. It changed my perception of myself. ’Cause I really like to talk to people.

I’m a chatty girl! I have my sad moments when I want to be alone, who doesn’t, but I stopped looking at myself like an outsider. So it really, really made me hungry for more. Dorota • That was part of the communal experience, getting on the plane with a bunch of people you had no idea who they were and then meeting them all there and just enjoying yourself with them. I’m still friends with all of them up until today. Like I’d chat away with them all, and one of them is my best friend. Mark • I met so many lovely people and we still keep in touch online. We still chat online and there is a long-term relationship still there today. Ellen

Mobility experiences seem to have the greatest impact on participants in the areas of developing soft skills, and broadening possibilities for the future. More than three-quarters of respondents said that the placement had developed or improved their communication and team-working skills, and their ability to work in an international environment (Figure 6). More than two-thirds said that because of their placements they were not afraid to work abroad (66%) or to study abroad (68%) (Figure 32). These particular strengths were summed up succinctly by Colm, who had completed a two-week placement in a tourist office in Slovenia, in his interview:

It vastly helped my communication skills and it made me a lot more confident by being in a rather diverse environment. Of course I got the best of it by getting to know quite a few different people, and this was all part of the great package. I felt as if it helped me to become a more independent person, to be more self-sufficient, to be able to look after myself as well. And of course it also gave me a great feel for the place. I feel as if this would be of great benefit to me again should I ever go on a work placement abroad again. Which I gladly will at any given time.

One of the survey respondents stated simply, ‘It showed me so many other available opportunities for work and education abroad.’

Evidence from interviews and focus groups suggests that this type of impact from short-term placements is most strongly felt by participants who have not lived away from home or worked in their vocational area before. As one survey respondent put it, ‘Having been placed with a girl that had just finished her Leaving Cert, I think the placement was more valuable to her than to myself as a mature student (40). Being away from home and working with strangers is good for confidence and a taste of the real world.’