ACES was addressed to all those people in the labour market who wanted to develop their skills and build their career in the economic sectors of Arts and Culture. That is, organisations promoting different forms of creativity such as music, dance, writing and painting; organisations involved in the promotion of multicultural events for the purpose of developing intercultural dialogue and integration through exchange and comparison of different religions, traditions, beliefs.

The main requisite for the participants was to have achieved a degree or diploma within a formal education system in the areas mentioned above.

The transnational placements involved 18 participants and the duration of the training was 10 weeks in all economic sectors. The transnational mobilities took place in Italy and Spain.

ACES was promoted by Language Link and implemented with the support of Harrow College, a Further Education College based in North West London. ACES was also implemented with the support of the hosting organisations: enterprises, training centres and cultural associations who took care of the successful integration of the participants in the local training and working contexts. The staff of both organisations was involved in the project, tutoring and mentoring the participants during their stay in the host countries. The tutors of both organisations regularly monitored and evaluated the project development in order to guarantee its correct progression and achieve the best results.

A preparatory course for all participants took place at Language Link before the departure of the students, in order to give them the basic linguistic and cultural knowledge to allow them to adjust to local habits in the host countries.

In order to improve the competencies and personal skills of the participants, they attended an intensive language course in the host countries. This experience allowed them to apply their newly acquired skills within the local area and increase their employability.

The combination of their new know-how and their existing skills created a better awareness of latent and proven abilities and perhaps allowed the setting up of new entrepreneurial activities.

The host organisations for the ACES project were INCOMA, for those students who went to Spain, and CEDIT, for those who went to Italy.

INCOMA (International Consulting and Mobility Agency) is a private company located in Seville, in the south of Spain. INCOMA works as promoter on the development and management of European Union projects, especially those included in the framework of vocational training and mobility like Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates, Erasmus, Mundus and Tempus programmes. Likewise INCOMA works as a partner of national and European promoters, providing a complete hosting service to the foreign beneficiaries of the grants given under the above mentioned programmes. A full service is provided for those who decide to come over to Seville for work experience or exchange visit. Services of welcoming, accommodation, language and cultural preparation, and organisation of work placements or visit programmes, are tailored to the specific requirements of each partner. Furthermore, INCOMA has set up a wide and interesting international and local partners network, with Public and Private Institutions, Universities, Chambers of Commerce and Non Profit making Organisations, that ensures a high quality service.

Cedit is a member of CONFARTIGIANATO IMPRESE TOSCANA and CONFARTIGIANATO NAZIONALE EUROPEO. CEDIT is specialised in the elaboration of projects and the promotion of actions in the fields of training, education and entrepreneurial development on a regional, national and international scale. CEDIT was founded in 1989, and over the last 12 years it has been involved in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme, carrying out and promoting mobility projects and exchanges of young people, employees and entrepreneurs. Every year CEDIT carries out mobility activities for hundreds of people. In order to promote the above named activities CEDIT has created a website, www.workexperience.it, offering the opportunity of finding and offering work placements. 

If you would like to receive further information or require a copy of the Project materials, please contact ameliafiorillo@languagelink.co.uk

“I was placed at the Salone dell’Arte e del Restauro in Florence. The location was excellent, meaning I could walk to work every day. At the placement, the staff were extremely accommodating offering me my own desk and computer. The work was relevant to my past experience, and I was given long term projects so I could work on them at my own pace meaning I felt I had value to the company rather than just being given the odd job here and there. They were very friendly and professional and I felt included as part of the organisation. I would recommend this institution for other future interns […]”

“Overall I enjoyed my period as a Leonardo Trainee. The most valuable aspect was the opportunity to improve my language. I found the lessons useful and I improved my grammar also as during working hours only Italian was spoken and this was vital […]”

“I’ve enjoyed being part of the Leonardo da Vinci scholarship programme. The work placement as an intern at the tourist office in Vinci was fantastic, the people I met were wonderful and I’ll really miss them […]”

“The internship was a fantastic experience for me. It helped me to experience being in a work environment, interact with a range of people and learn vocabulary and language linked to working in Italy. My colleagues were all very helpful and kind, and were always willing to give me new tasks and try to find interesting work for me […]”

"[…] As well, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of autonomy I was given at work. I expected to be getting small tasks to help others with their work, but often I even got whole projects assigned, to work on them by myself, which was really encouraging […]”

"The apartment itself was very spacious and clean and the owners (Alessandra and Alessandro) were extremely pleasant and helpful. Alessandra even offered to meet us the next day to give us a tour of the area which was most useful. When we had any problems with the apartment such as power cuts or blown fuses, they responded to us and sorted the problem very quickly. The facilities and provisions of the apartment were more than sufficient: there were plenty of towels, sheets and kitchen implements"