On the 23rd of November, the “Association FOR YOU” organised a Workshop “International transfer of good professional practices”. It took place in a cosy, non-formal environment, at a youth space for different events and social initiatives – “HALE3”, Varna. Representatives of businesses, as well as university and vocational school students, were invited to join the workshop. The event was a part of “The European Gateway” – a project within the frames of the Erasmus+ program, created by 8 organisations from 5 European countries (France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria).

European Gateway: what is it about?

The first session started with presentations of the participants and the project. The president of “Association FOR YOU”, Elina Raynova shared the general directives and the expected results.

“The European Gateway” aims to create solutions for common issues for many European countries. These matters are unemployment, integration of youth in active work environment, better quality of the professional training, acquired from established professionals. This will increase geographically the quality of the labor through distribution of the best practices, knowledge and skills of each country.

What are the expectations for an international internship?

During the next session, all participants were divided into groups and worked on different topics. The first group had to write down the expectations of the company hosting foreign trainees or interns. The second group had to list the expectations of the trainees from an international professional mobility. The third group had to put together all the benefits for the company, having foreign trainees and interns. After the group work, all participants presented the results from their brainstorming. It was interesting to see the attitude towards the idea of international internships from different perspectives.

There were guests from Bulgarian companies in different fields: tourism, restaurant services, education, culture and the NGO sector.

Thanks to the variety of participants who joined the event, it was possible to hear the opinion of all sides engaged in international professional mobilities; moreover, some of the participants had already had a hands-on experience with such programs.

Sharing experiences

For instance, our EVS volunteer Marie-Gabrielle talked about her international internship here in Varna. She shared the good moments of the experience, as well as some difficulties, which occurred during the mobility. The representatives of different companies also shared what they learned so far from having both international and local interns and trainees in their businesses. All these examples gave the participants rich material for a detailed analysis of all aspects of professional mobility. The session ended with a discussion.

The fruitful work part of the event was followed by a refreshing cocktail.

Professionals, students and young people had the chance to continue the conversation; some even decided to keep in touch to realise mutual projects and ideas in future.

“Association FOR YOU” would like to thank to “Bistro Bonjour”, “Alliance Francaise Varna”, “Infopoint”, “Yo-ho-hostel”, “The Black Sheep”, “Pharside”, and to all young people who has spared their time and took part in the meeting, and also to “The Place FOR YOU” for the delicious food provided for the event.