Teaching activities in VET
During a teaching assignment abroad, you teach vocational skills for a short period at vocational schools or training providers in Europe or beyond. Conversely, you can also invite experts from abroad. We will support you and your institution financially.
Overview
For whom
- For teachers and vocational trainers in basic vocational training
Duration of teaching assignment
- 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
What to do
- Participants contact their institution
- Institutions look for a partner institution, plan the teaching assignment together and submit a funding application
Deadlines
- Application deadline: 5 March and 1 October
- Project start: 1 June or 1 December
In detail
During a teaching assignment abroad, you will teach vocational skills at a vocational school or in a training provider within or outside Europe. You will support colleagues in lesson planning and the assessment of VET students/apprentices and conduct lessons independently. As a result, you will familiarise yourself with new professional practices, improve your language skills and gain ideas for your everyday working life at home.
Conversely, you can invite experts from abroad to your institution to teach there and share their knowledge with colleagues.
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 as a teacher at a vocational school or as a vocational trainer.
For institutions:
- Your institution and the partner institution abroad are involved in basic vocational education and training. Examples include vocational schools or training providers.
- The applying institution is based in Switzerland.
To the teaching assignment you are planning with the partner organisation:
- The teaching assignment lasts between 2 and 60 consecutive days.
- It includes responsibility for the content of lessons or the teaching of skills.
- It has a clear connection to your teaching assignment in everyday life.
- It takes place abroad (outgoing) or in Switzerland (incoming).
Funding amounts
- Organisation fee for institutions: 450 CHF (per person, for outgoing students only)
- For the journey: 400 CHF to 1'000 CHF (per person, depending on the destination country)
- For the stay: 120 CHF to 180 CHF (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 the Swiss institution. They will submit the funding application to us, regardless of whether they are going abroad or you are coming to Switzerland.
For institutions
In principle, all collaborators can initiate a teaching assignment. The funding application is submitted in the name of the Swiss institution.
Teaching assignments abroad are funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. In addition to Teaching activities in VET, this programme also supports Continuing education, Networking activities and Job Shadowing in VET abroad for VET collaborators as well as Teaching activities 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 a teaching assignment, you need a partner institution.
- Activate your personal or professional environment for this purpose.
- Find a partner institution abroad through your network and the school's network, by attending Movetia networking events or international conferences.
- Teaching activities in VET are generally possible worldwide, with a few exceptions. Make sure that the desired partner institution is located in an eligible programme country.
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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
- Determine what is to be achieved through the teaching assignment.
- 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 the teaching assignment. In the same funding application, you can also apply for funding for job Shadowing, networking activities and continuing education abroad for staff in VET as well as job shadowing and Project work abroad for VET students/apprentices and 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. Project implementation
- Prepare participants for the teaching assignment 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).
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8. Submit final report
At the end of the project period, you 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.
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9. 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.
Q & A
How do I find a suitable partner organisation for my teaching assignment abroad?
Have you heard of interesting vocational schools in your sector abroad? Or do you know colleagues in Switzerland who have already done this? Contact us spontaneously. You can also search the internet for suitable keywords or contact us.