The HRM – Kitchen Team project, an Erasmus+ initiative focused on training in the catering and hospitality sector, recently facilitated a transformative week-long mobility experience for ENAC Puglia students in Poland and Germany. This mobility exemplifies how international VET experiences can develop both technical competencies and essential transversal skills that prepare young people for the realities of working life.
ENAC Puglia students spent an intense week between Gorzów Wielkopolski, Szczecin, and the German region of Schwedt/Oder, participating in activities that combined technical training with cultural discovery. At the Lubusz Chamber of Crafts and ZSG school, they worked side by side with Polish and Ukrainian peers, preparing catering snacks and learning traditional recipes in a genuinely multicultural environment. The universal language of food broke down linguistic barriers and created authentic connections between young people from different countries.
A particularly meaningful moment was the workshop at a traditional bakery in Gorzów Wielkopolski, where students learned the art of bread-making from local artisans. Kneading, shaping, and baking bread requires patience, precision, and passion—values that go far beyond technical skills and that students experienced firsthand, discovering the importance of craftsmanship in food production.
This mobility experience directly addresses the core objectives of the VET2Sustain project. By bringing together students from multiple countries and facilitating collaboration with local businesses—from artisan bakeries to sustainable farms—the programme strengthened cooperation between VET schools and working life across Europe. The hands-on activities developed not only technical culinary skills but also crucial soft competencies such as cross-cultural communication, adaptability, and teamwork—essential abilities for lifelong learning in an evolving labor market.
Most importantly, experiences like these demonstrate how international mobility enhances the attractiveness of vocational education, showing young people that VET offers dynamic, enriching pathways that prepare them for meaningful careers in an interconnected world. The HRM – Kitchen Team mobility embodies VET2Sustain’s vision: vocational education that is responsive to labor market needs, internationally oriented, and capable of inspiring the next generation of European professionals.
Cross-cultural communication, adaptability, teamwork in diverse environments, global awareness—these are the competencies that make the difference between simply learning a trade and preparing for a meaningful career in an interconnected world.
