Erasmus+ Brexit update on 21 December confirms UK Government news that with the caveat that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, in principle the UK will continue to benefit from all EU programmes, including Erasmus+, until the end of the current budget plan (2014-2020).
With €170m available to UK education, training and youth organisations in 2018, the largest sum to date, this is great news for those from the UK who want to broaden their horizons and career prospects through studying, training or volunteering abroad, and exchanging best practice with their European counterparts.
The European Commission’s (EC) 2016 annual report annex shows that in 2015, more than 31,000 people from the UK went abroad on Erasmus+, while more than 70,000 came into the UK. The UK was the top destination for school staff from Europe to teach, train or job shadow, and the number one destination for vocational education and training apprentices and staff to improve their skills too.
As Erasmus+ continues to evolve, there are three new developments:
1.School Exchange Partnerships are introduced, allowing school pupils and staff to learn in schools across Europe for as few as three days at a time;
2.the transition from European Voluntary Service to the new European Solidarity Corps initiative;
3.higher education students can now undertake traineeships, including one in digital skills, in a growing number of countries beyond Europe, through International Credit Mobility.
2018 is shaping up to be the biggest Erasmus+ year yet, to build upon the 30th anniversary celebrations in 2017. Looking further beyond that, the UK was one of the countries which contributed to the Erasmus+ Generation Declaration, on the future of Erasmus+ beyond 2020, as the EC is already planning the next generation of the programme.
Find out more at https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/