The course, which focused on administrative processes in international trade, prepared the mentors and teachers of the YEP MED training programmes in the use of the simulated practice enterprises methodology. This methodology, which taught through the concept of “learning by doing”, had as an objective to ensure that the students that will complete the occupational training courses in the coming months received training from professionals and teachers that were well skilled in the simulated environment.

Additionally, the course had as objectives to :

• Promote the simultaneous and integrated development of functional competencies of organisational management (social, human and business) based on a methodological didactic simulation device that allows for, within the framework of formal education, contextualized and experiential knowledge.
• Stimulate the responsible and autonomous development of the participant to become fluent in problem solving and decision-making in the event of unforeseen circumstances, incidents and conflicts produced by the dynamics of a company and its interactions with customers and suppliers.
• Develop a system that stays on top of current market developments and operations and adapts its contents to them, ensuring a seamless connection of the teaching-learning model with the local industry trends.
• Contribute to the occupational guidance of participants and the employability of unemployed through role-playing tests and specific tasks typical of the world of work.

Overall 32 teachers joined the course as participants. The teachers came from the port communities of Barcelona, Valencia, Civitavecchia, Beirut, Damietta, Tunis, and Aqaba.

The training was delivered through a combination of lectures and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) simulation teamwork exercises. The Escola Europea Intermodal Transport, lead partner of the YEP MED (Youth Employment in the Ports of the MEDiterranean) project, organised the training. The teachers that shared their expertise and explained the didactic teaching format were specialists in customs and tax treatment, customer risk analysis, payment methods and insurance management of relevant companies in the sector.

On the 6^th of October, the Barcelona Activa employment centres and the Economic Promotion Centre of the City Council of El Prat de Llobregat have already started to provide this training to 30 young members of their local community. This training, with a duration of 100 hours, will provide an all-encompassing overview of the port logistics community and the administrative processes that surround transport operations within a port environment, and with the innovative inclusion of the simulated practice enterprises, will give them the opportunity to practice the concepts learned first-hand in a controlled environment.