Job Shadowing in VET
VET staff visit specialists in another country. You observe their day-to-day work, exchange information about your specialism and bring new contacts and international expertise to your workplace.
Overview
For whom
- Teachers, vocational trainers and school headmasters in basic vocational training
Duration of job shadowing
- 2 to 60 days
Where
- Worldwide for persons from Switzerland (outgoing)
- In Switzerland for persons from abroad (incoming)
What we fund
- Financial support for organisation, travel and accommodation
Procedure
- Participants contact their institution
- Institutions look for a partner institution, plan the project together and submit a funding application
Deadlines
- Application deadline: March and October
- Project start: 1 June or 1 December
In detail
Job shadowing abroad enables vocational education and training staff to gain work experience in an international environment. You accompany colleagues in a vocational education and training institution abroad for at least two days and exchange professional experiences.
This activity is funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. This programme allows Swiss institutions to organise activities similar to the ones funded by the European education programme Erasmus+.
Requirements
For participants:
- You work in vocational education and training as a teacher, vocational trainer or school headmaster.
For institutions:
- Your institution is active in basic vocational training, e.g. vocational schools, training providers or training centres.
- The applying institution is based in Switzerland.
To job shadow:
- Job shadowing lasts between 2 and 60 consecutive days.
- It has a clear connection to your work.
- It takes place abroad (outgoing) or in Switzerland (incoming).
- Added value / additional benefit for the Swiss education system.
Funding amounts
- Organisation fee for the institution: CHF 450 (per person, for outgoing students only)
- For the journey: CHF 400 to CHF 1,000 (per person, depending on the destination country)
- For the stay: CHF 120 to CHF 180 (per day, per person, depending on destination country)
- For the specific needs of individuals with disabilities or those suffering from physical, mental, or chronic illnesses: Max. 12,000 CHF (actual costs based on the note of requirements)Insurance and any visa fees are at your expense.
The guidelines contain all the funding amounts and the calculation in detail:
Evaluation criteria
The 2025 funds will be allocated on the basis of the following allocation criteria and priorities:
Procedure
For participants (outgoing and incoming)
Contact your employer. They will organise the project with a host institution. Discuss which planning steps you can take on yourself. The Swiss institution must submit the funding application.
For institutions
In principle, all collaborators can initiate a project. The funding application is submitted in the name of the Swiss institution.
Job shadowing abroad is funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. In addition to Job Shadowing in VET, this programme also supports Teaching activities, Networking activities and Continuing education abroad for staff in VET as well as Project work in VET and project work abroad for VET students/apprentices. We recommend that you bundle several activities in one funding application.
The guidelines contain all the information you need to apply for and implement your project. These include, for example, the funding table, the eligible programme countries and the funding criteria:
Follow these steps to carry out your project:
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1. Find a partner institution
To carry out job shadowing, you need a partner institution.
- Find a partner institution abroad through your network and the school's network, by attending Movetia networking events or international conferences.
- Job Shadowing in VET is generally possible worldwide, with a few exceptions. Make sure that the desired partner institution is located in an eligible programme country.
Get more information on the topic find an exchange partner.
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2. optional Form consortium
If several Swiss institutions are pursuing the same goal, they can apply for funding for mobilities as a consortium. Find out whether a consortium project brings additional benefit to your project.
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3. optional Arrange a preparatory visit
Would you like to meet potential project partners on site to get to know each other or jointly develop a project? Get financial support for a preparatory visit.
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4. Plan project
- Clarify the needs in your institution and determine what is to be achieved through job shadowing.
- Plan the project and the stay together with your partner institution.
- In the project application, you describe the planned activities and provide information on points such as
- Details of all partner institutions
- Brief project description with objectives and measures
- Overview of planned mobility activities
- Information on the preparation, on-site support and follow-up of the mobility activities
- Plan for internal and external communication of the project results.
Use the funding criteria as a guide.
It is important to us to enable people with disabilities or with physical, mental, or chronic illnesses to participate. Therefore, we provide additional funding for special needs. You can apply for additional funding in the login area during the project period. You can find more information under inclusion and equal opportunities.
Consider environmentally friendly means of transport in the planning of your project. Find out more about green mobility.
We will be happy to provide you with individual counselling to answer any questions you may have concerning the planning, submission and implementation of your project. The counselling can take place by phone, online or on site.
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5. Submit funding application
- Submit the funding application online. Keep to the deadlines in March and October.
- Open the application as early as possible to familiarise yourself with the requirements. We open the application forms together with the call for projects, usually in December and June. You can save the application temporarily and continue working on it later. If you are submitting an application for the first time, you will need to register once.
- Only one application is required for all persons involved in job shadowing. In the same funding application, you can also apply for funding for Teaching activities, Networking activities and Continuing education abroad for staff in VET as well as Teaching activities in VET and Project work abroad for VET students/apprentices.
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6. Contract and payout
- We will review your application after the deadlines have expired.
- You will receive notification at the end of May or the end of November.
- After a positive decision, we will send you a contract.
- The project starts on 1 June or 1 December. You can choose between a project duration of 12 or 24 months.
- Within 30 days of receiving the signed contract, we will pay out 40% of the total amount approved (1st instalment). As soon as you have used 70% of this amount, you can claim the next 40% (2nd instalment). We will calculate the remaining amount after the final report has been submitted.
- Payments are made exclusively to vocational education and training institutions based in Switzerland.
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7. Implement project
- Prepare the participants for the exchange so that they can benefit as much as possible from the experience.
- After the start of the project, we organise an information event. You will receive all the information you need to successfully carry out and complete your project. It also gives you the opportunity to get to know your contacts at our company and other project managers.
During the project period you can apply for additional funds for participants with physical or mental impairments by submitting a request for persons with special needs.
You can use a separate form to notify us of any changes to your project (e.g. duration, project partner, budget). From the 2025 funding period onwards, modifications can be made directly in the login area during the project period.
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8. Spread the word
Implement the planned communication measures. Be sure to mention the funding from Movetia. We provide the logo and text modules.
Share the content widely via your institution's channels, e.g. newsletter, social media, blog, etc. In this way, you present your institution as innovative, open-minded and an attractive school/employer.
Contact us to increase your reach, e.g. by placing a magazine article on our website.
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9. Submit final report
- At the end of the project period, you must submit a short final report within 60 days. Depending on the number of mobilities realised, we will pay out any remaining amounts or make a reclaim.
Q & A
Can we, as a group of people working in basic vocational training, visit or tour educational institutions abroad via job shadowing?
Job shadowing focusses on observing or immersing a teacher, for example, in everyday working life abroad. Participants accompany peers in their professional lives. Group or delegation visits, for example to schools or training providers, are not funded.