UK's "We Mean Business" National Info Day will show companies the benefits of hosting international trainees
The British "We Mean Business" National Info Day will show how companies benefit from hosting international trainees. The National Info Day will take place at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills Conference Centre in London. The recently launched "We Mean Business" initiative aims to encourage companies to host more Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci trainee placements to boost young people's skills and employability as well as to help companies' competitiveness and search for new staff.
London, UK - The morning of Tuesday, July 10th, 2012, the British "We Mean Business" National Info Day will show how companies benefit from hosting international trainees. The National Info Day will take place at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills Conference Centre in London. The recently launched "We Mean Business" initiative aims to encourage companies to host more Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci trainee placements to boost young people's skills and employability as well as to help companies' competitiveness and search for new staff.
The event will be opened by Antonia Mochan, Head of Communication, Network and Partnership at the European Commission Representation in the UK. The agenda continues with talks by Michele Phizacklea, Leonardo UK Senior Project Manager at Ecorys, and David Hibler, Erasmus UK Programme Manager at the British Council on "An Overview of the Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus Traineeships." Furthermore, John Wastnage, Policy Adviser at the British Chamber of Commerce will talk in a special session titled "What Are the Benefits to UK Businesses?".
Finally in the last session, titled "Businesses benefiting from hosting Leonardo and Erasmus trainees", there will be talks by Patrick Cross, Managing Director at Gecko Programmes Ltd, Dino Elbakkali, Managing Director at Dino Building Ltd, Elena Adrián, Marketing & Membership Development Assistant at Russell Bedford International, and Monica Vannozzi, an intern at QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
Stakeholders from different communities such as the European Commission, chambers of commerce, the National Agencies running Erasmus and Leonardo and other umbrella organisations will share their experiences and insights at the British National Info Day.
Furthermore, traineeships can also bring benefits to companies, enabling them to identify excellence in potential employees who could, with their fresh ideas, be vital to the companies' future productivity and competitiveness. In 2010/2011, 4,256 British students carried out Erasmus work placements in another country. Another 4,265 British students were supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme to undertake placements abroad.
Few British companies are aware of the possibility of hosting a trainee in the framework of a European programme. In order to increase the number of host companies, "We Mean Business" strives to demonstrate the benefits of international placements to businesses. Clayton Shaw, Operation Manager at Sampad South Asian Arts, offers this insight into the practical outcomes of placements: "Our experience of hosting placements at Sampad has been extremely positive. We have hosted a number of placements over the last couple of years, all of whom have been of value to the organisation in their own way. Through a negotiation of key work priorities and the skills and interests of the participants, via ETS we are able to offer practical experience of working in the cultural sector, while at the same time we benefit from additional support. The participants have all had a good or excellent level of English, which we help to improve through a range of written and verbal tasks, as well as through general day-to-day communications. The participants bring an alternative perspective to our work and add positive energy to the team".
For more information on why and how to host a trainee, please visit http://we-mean-business.europa.eu.