VET Internships · Erasmus+ Mobility

VET Internships & Erasmus+ Mobility for Vocational Schools

We organise and manage international work placements for VET students across Europe. From company matching to accommodation and 24/7 support — fully managed under Erasmus+ KA1.

Vetted host companies
Inspected accommodation
24/7 on-the-ground support
ECVET + Europass closure pack

Request a VET Programme Schedule a call Get a 48h Quote

Tell us your dates, sectors and group size — 5-minute form, written reply within 48 working hours.

Piktalent is the Erasmus+ mobility brand of The Student Mobility Group, operating since 2009 — 20,000+ participants placed across 32 European cities, with a 3,000+ verified host-company network.

Mhairi

VET Mobility Lead

"From host sourcing to Europass closure, we run your VET cohort like our own classroom abroad."

3,000+

Verified host companies

European cities

24/7

On-call support

What Is a VET Mobility Program?

A VET (Vocational Education and Training) mobility programme sends groups of vocational students abroad for short, practical work placements in real European companies. Funded under Erasmus+ KA1 (KA121 and KA122 actions defined in the official Erasmus+ Programme Guide), it is a structured, supervised internship — not a study-abroad semester. Programmes typically last 2 to 4 weeks for short-term group flows (up to 3 months for individual placements, or 3–12 months under ErasmusPro). Each learning agreement is mapped to ECVET units and competences are referenced against ESCO occupation codes, with closure documented through Europass Mobility. Piktalent operates as the intermediary organisation, managing host company sourcing, accommodation, on-site coordination, and audit-ready documentation end-to-end.

Last updated April 2026

VET hospitality students plating a dish in a European hotel kitchen alongside their host-company tutor

Program structure

Typical Program Structure

Most VET cohorts follow the same operational shape — short, group-based, sector-aligned.

Duration

2 to 4 weeks for short-term group mobility. Up to 3 months for individual placements; 3–12 months under ErasmusPro.

Format

Group mobility (5–50+ learners) with a sending-school accompanying person, or individual flows for older or long-duration learners.

Sectors

Hospitality & tourism, retail & business administration, technical (electronics, mechanics, automotive), IT, healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and education.

Workload

30–40 hours per week in a real host company, supervised by a named in-company tutor and tracked via attendance + weekly evaluations.

Recognition

Europass Mobility certificate, ECVET-aligned learning agreement, and host-company evaluation report — accepted in the Beneficiary Module.

Funding

Eligible for Erasmus+ KA121 (accredited) and KA122 (short-term) grants. Piktalent invoices the sending institution directly.

VET student practising customer interaction in the host language at a European retail boutique

What participants learn

Skills Participants Build Abroad

Workplace competences VET learners build during a Piktalent-managed placement — focused on the realities of EU SMEs, not generic soft-skills lists.

Sector-specific technical skills validated by the host tutor against the ECVET units in the learning agreement
Workplace language used daily with colleagues, suppliers and customers — measured by self-assessment at week 1 vs. closure
EU workplace norms most VET learners have never seen: HACCP in kitchens, GDPR in offices, EN-standard PPE in technical workshops
Customer interaction in the host language, including complaint handling, upselling and shift handover
Reliability under unfamiliar conditions: shift work, public-transport commuting, peer-only living arrangements
Cross-cultural team collaboration in a 4–8 person SME — the most common European VET host environment
Independent daily logistics: budgeting €100–€150/week food + transport, navigating local healthcare, banking
Reporting & self-evaluation discipline via the weekly attendance + competence log signed by the tutor
A documented portfolio for job applications: Europass Mobility, host reference letter, and ECVET unit confirmations

Audience

Who This Program Is For

VET Schools & Centres

Vocational education institutions running KA1 mobility projects for their students.

Erasmus+ Coordinators

Mobility coordinators managing grant applications and participant logistics.

Training Providers

Private and public training organisations with Erasmus+ accreditation.

Included

What's Included

Every programme includes comprehensive services managed end-to-end by Piktalent.

Host-company placements

Sourced from a 3,000+ company network across 32 European cities, sector-matched against the ECVET learning agreement, with a named in-company tutor (3+ years experience for ErasmusPro) confirmed in writing before flight.

Accommodation

Student residences, shared apartments or vetted host families within 30–45 min commute of the host company. Inspected against a fixed checklist (safety, internet, kitchen access, bills included). Single rooms available on request.

Insurance

Travel + medical + civil liability cover that meets Erasmus+ KA1 minimums (€30,000 medical, repatriation included). Policy certificates issued in the learner's name and sent to your coordinator before departure.

Language preparation

OLS-supplemented pre-departure module + 8–10h of on-arrival workplace-language coaching in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, French or English. Targeted at workplace vocabulary, not academic grammar.

Documentation pack

ECVET-aligned learning agreement, weekly attendance log, mid- and end-of-mobility evaluations co-signed by the host tutor, Europass Mobility certificate, and a Beneficiary Module-ready closure file.

Local coordinator + 24/7 line

One named coordinator per city (not a call centre) available in working hours plus a 24/7 emergency line tested before each cohort lands. Daily check-ins for week 1, weekly thereafter.

Process

How It Works

Scoping (week 0–4)

Kick-off call to lock sectors, group size, dates, ECVET/learning agreement template and destination shortlist. Indicative quote returned within 48 hours.

Matching (week 4–10)

Host-company sourcing per learner, profile validation against the learning agreement, and confirmation back to your coordinator with named tutors per placement.

Pre-departure (week 10 to flight)

Accommodation booked, insurance issued, airport transfers scheduled, language top-up delivered, and the full pre-departure pack sent to your school.

On-mobility & closure

First-week daily check-ins, named local coordinator on 24/7 line, mid-mobility supervisor visit, attendance + evaluation tracked weekly, Europass + final reports issued at closure.

Real scenarios

How this programme runs in practice

Three concrete institutional or participant situations and the operational path Piktalent runs for each.

VET electronics learner soldering a circuit board under supervision of a named in-company tutor in a European workshop

Spanish IES sending 30 hospitality students to Italy and Portugal

An Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria runs an annual KA121 hospitality cohort of 30 learners aged 17–19, split across kitchen, F&B and front-of-house tracks. Piktalent splits the cohort across Florence, Lisbon and Porto. Each city has a vetted hotel and restaurant network, an ECVET-aligned learning agreement, and a local coordinator running daily check-ins for the first week.

Outcome

All 30 learners complete. Two host hotels offer apprenticeships at the end. The IES uses the cohort evidence in its KA121 quality report.

Context: An Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria runs an annual KA121 hospitality cohort of 30 learners aged 17–19, split across kitchen, F&B and front-of-house tracks.
Approach: Piktalent splits the cohort across Florence, Lisbon and Porto. Each city has a vetted hotel and restaurant network, an ECVET-aligned learning agreement, and a local coordinator running daily check-ins for the first week.
Outcome: All 30 learners complete. Two host hotels offer apprenticeships at the end. The IES uses the cohort evidence in its KA121 quality report.

Read a comparable VET hospitality case study

Polish technical school running ErasmusPro flows in IT and electronics

A 4-month ErasmusPro flow for 12 IT and electronics learners, where local supervision quality has historically been a problem. Hosts are pre-vetted on supervision capacity (named tutor with 3+ years experience). A pre-departure intensive Italian/Spanish module runs for 2 weeks. Mid-mobility on-site supervision visit at week 8.

Outcome

11 of 12 complete; one early return handled within 5 working days. Mid-mobility report flagged proactively, no audit issues.

Context: A 4-month ErasmusPro flow for 12 IT and electronics learners, where local supervision quality has historically been a problem.
Approach: Hosts are pre-vetted on supervision capacity (named tutor with 3+ years experience). A pre-departure intensive Italian/Spanish module runs for 2 weeks. Mid-mobility on-site supervision visit at week 8.
Outcome: 11 of 12 complete; one early return handled within 5 working days. Mid-mobility report flagged proactively, no audit issues.

Read a comparable multi-country VET case study

Adult VET centre placing care and social-services learners

A VET adult-education centre needs 14 placements in care, social services and community work — sectors with strict safeguarding rules and specific supervision requirements. Hosts in Spain and Ireland selected against a custom safeguarding checklist. Learning agreements explicitly map to ECVET units in the centre's curriculum. Weekly supervisor evaluations submitted via the Beneficiary Module.

Outcome

100% completion, full ECVET recognition. The centre's accreditation review cites the cohort as best-practice evidence.

Context: A VET adult-education centre needs 14 placements in care, social services and community work — sectors with strict safeguarding rules and specific supervision requirements.
Approach: Hosts in Spain and Ireland selected against a custom safeguarding checklist. Learning agreements explicitly map to ECVET units in the centre's curriculum. Weekly supervisor evaluations submitted via the Beneficiary Module.
Outcome: 100% completion, full ECVET recognition. The centre's accreditation review cites the cohort as best-practice evidence.

Read a comparable VET group case study

Decision framework

Is this the right programme for you?

VET Mobility Programs are the right fit for vocational schools and training centres running supervised work placements under Erasmus+ KA1. Other Piktalent programmes apply when your participants, durations or formats are different.

Choose this programme when…

You are a vocational school, training centre or adult VET provider with KA121, KA122 or KA171 funding.
Your learners need supervised work placements in real companies — not classroom training abroad.
Durations between 2 weeks and 3 months (or up to 12 months for ErasmusPro).
You need ECVET / Europass-aligned learning agreements and evaluation evidence.
You want full operational support including accommodation and on-site supervision.

Consider another programme when…

HEI Mobility Programs — If your participants are higher-education students, the OLA-T workflow and recognition path differ.
Job Shadowing — If you want short observation-based mobility for staff or students instead of supervised placements.
KA121 / KA122 Mobility — For the project-management view of accredited or short-term group flows.
Custom Mobility Programs — If you need a mixed format combining work placement, observation and structured training.

Ready to scope your next VET cohort?

Share sectors, group size and target dates — we return a per-learner quote and city plan within 48 hours.

Request a 48h quote

Destinations

Recommended Destinations

Group of VET students walking through a sunlit Iberian city square during their Erasmus+ mobility

Browse Erasmus+ Mobility Destinations

Why Piktalent

Why Institutions Choose Piktalent

200+

VET schools served

10–14 wks

Briefing → cohort departure

5 days

Avg. early-return resolution

4.7 / 5

Avg. EU Survey score

15+ years of Erasmus+ VET delivery via The Student Mobility Group — Piktalent inherits the operator track record, not a 2023 startup curve.

3,000+ verified host companies across 32 European cities, pre-vetted on supervision capacity and sector relevance — no last-minute placement gaps.

Workflow mapped 1:1 against the Erasmus Quality Standards for VET, so your KA121/KA122 quality report and audit evidence are ready by closure.

Dedicated local coordinators per city with 24/7 emergency line — tested before arrival, used in real incidents, documented in your final report.

High completion rates across short-term and ErasmusPro flows with proactive mid-mobility flagging — see the published case studies for cohort-level numbers.

Single point of contact at Piktalent for your coordinator: one inbox, one timeline, one invoice — instead of negotiating with multiple cities and providers.

Beneficiary Module-ready documentation: ECVET-aligned learning agreements, attendance, evaluations and Europass certificates delivered in the right format.

VET represents the largest share of our annual cohort volume, with hospitality, business administration and technical trades the three highest-volume sectors — depth of host network in those fields specifically.

Experience handling under-18 learners: documented safeguarding protocol, accompanying-person logistics, host-tutor guardian designation and pre-tested emergency line.

Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

For Universities, VET Centres & Coordinators

Plan a VET mobility program

Tell us about your sectors, group size and timeline. We come back within 48 hours with a city plan, indicative pricing and host availability.

Book a Free Consultation Read VET case studies

VET Internships & Erasmus+ Mobility for Vocational Schools

What Is a VET Mobility Program?

Typical Program Structure

Skills Participants Build Abroad