Réussir sans frontières / Erfolg ohne Grenzen (France - Germany - Switzerland (Upper Rhine))

2013

Cross-border cooperation is a partnership between private or public players separated by a State border, whose actions have repercussions at regional and local level on either side of the border. Within the European area, 360° mobility across the border, the projects and policies that accompany this mobility in territories close to the border, the progressive cross-border integration that this cooperation builds and which gives rise to cross-border territories, characterise different experiences. To illustrate the results of more than 20 years of cooperation within the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT), 20 unique experiments conducted by MOT members for the benefit of the inhabitants of cross-border territories have been highlighted in various fields: here we look at the fields of training and higher education through the example of the « Réussir sans frontières » project, an initiative to promote employment and training in the Franco-German territory of the Upper Rhine.

In higher education, several university networks have been set up in cross-border areas. Their aim is to pool investment and take advantage of existing complementarities in areas of expertise, increasing their influence. Vocational training, for its part, is conditioned by the policies implemented in cross-border employment and living areas (see the « Employment » theme); its programming is essentially national, which hinders projects for the transmission of knowledge and know-how with a view to meeting cross-border labour needs.

The aim of the « Réussir sans frontières - Erfolg ohne Grenzen » project is to increase the number of cross-border workers by targeting and organising cross-border training more effectively. The aim is to provide the cross-border initial and continuing training sector with a genuine governance structure.

The French-German border between Baden-Württemberg and Alsace is marked by a disparity in terms of employability. On the German side, companies have a large number of job vacancies that are hard to fill, while at the same time a number of Alsatians are unable to find work.

The thirty-three partners in this project, supported by the Grand-Est Region, are coordinating to provide solutions to facilitate access to cross-border training and integration into the Upper Rhine labour market. It targets in particular young people and jobseekers throughout the region.

Supported by the Grand Est Region, « Compétences sans frontières » aims to provide French jobseekers with appropriate training so that they can respond to job offers on the German side. By promoting cross-border mobility and equipping the unemployed with solid, appropriate skills, the project aims to achieve success across borders by curbing the scourge of unemployment.

For example, the project supports the creation of Azubi-BacPro classes, bringing together German and French apprentices. It is part of a more global approach, the framework agreement on cross-border apprenticeships in the Upper Rhine, signed on 12 September 2013 by 28 French and German institutions, which aims to encourage and facilitate the cross-border mobility of apprentices. The agreement, initiated by the Upper Rhine Conference, precisely defines the framework and conditions for cross-border apprenticeships, open to young people at all levels of training in the Grand-Est, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

In practical terms, the project provides for the creation of a bilingual website (a portal for Franco-German offers, training and support), vocational training and apprenticeships (tailor-made training courses steeped in the dual Franco-German culture), language courses and support tools for the public, job-seeking support workshops, Franco-German advice centres and mobility aids.

Project objectives

Partners

German partners

Franco-German :

French :

Total cost

4,000,000, including €2,000,000 in European subsidies

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