Small and MEdium companies Executives’ Go to Europe

What was the project about?

SMEEGE was an Erasmus+ project aimed to demonstrate the benefits of stays abroad during training. These were brought closer to decision-makers (managers) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of short-term mobilities.

In the past, various institutions have recognised that stays abroad during vocational training are a useful addition. A NABiBB survey of project organisers in 2018 confirmed that the skills and knowledge of employees increase after a stay abroad. Offers of mobility during training also enhanced the image of the institutions, which is a sensible strategy for employee retention in times of a shortage of skilled labour.

However, many SMEs did not realise the value of stays abroad. The number of trainees going abroad increases when managers get an impression of the benefits of mobility. SMEEGE therefore endeavoured to send managers from SMEs abroad in order to make the benefits personally tangible.

The aim of the SMEEGE project was therefore to demonstrate the advantages of mobility to SME decision-makers (managers).

The SMEEGE project was carried out between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2022 by the lead organisation, TALENTBRÜCKE GmbH & Co. KG, and six other partners from Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Belgium and Germany.

The project phases

The project results

The SMEEGE week in pictures

The highlight of the Erasmus+ SMEEGE project was the on-site week in Madrid.
Over 30 decision-makers from small and medium-sized enterprises took part.

Travel report

As part of the project, a travel week took place in Madrid from 22 November to 25 November 2021.
The aim of the trip was to convince entrepreneurs and trainers of the advantages of stays abroad for their trainees.

You can find the trip report below.

Preparatory project phases

The project partners went through various project phases to prepare the planned trip in a targeted manner. Firstly, they conducted desktop research to identify relevant trends in mobility during vocational training. The research focussed on three core questions.

Question 1: What are the advantages of past stays abroad for companies?

Question 2: What are the advantages of a past stay abroad for trainees – on an individual level?

Question 3: What are the obstacles that prevent companies from offering placements abroad?

Based on the results and an expert survey, a travel programme was designed that addressed these results and made it possible for the decision-makers to experience the benefits of stays abroad in training first-hand. This resulted in the following travel programme.