Apprentices mobility is the movement of students and teachers in vocational education or training (VET) to another institution inside or outside their own country to study or teach for a limited time. The term is usually used in the context of European Union (EU) policy. Under the EU Lisbon agenda, attempts have been made to lower cultural, socio-economical and academic barriers to mobility. Mobile learners are usually divided into two groups: free-movers are learners who travel entirely on their own initiative, while programme students use exchange programmes at department, faculty, institution or national level (such as Leonardo da Vinci II). Terminology The practice of going abroad to learn has been denoted by different terms in different contexts over the years, such as "exchange" or "transnational mobility". For the specific practice of sending people abroad on placements in public and private enterprise, the more neutral term of "placements abroad" has been preferred. Many different practices use the term "placement" as a denominator for their activities, and some form of definition is necessary to distinguish between these, and to mark it off from ordinary employment abroad as well as other forms of transnational mobility. Placements may be set up by an organiser who has made the necessary arrangements for a placement, defined the intended learning outcome, and thought out the pedagogic implications. Placements may also be self-organized by the participant. When a student organizes a work stay in another country during holidays or a study break, this may or may not qualify as a placement according to the criterion of intent. If the purpose is to acquire vocational skills and/or improve language and intercultural skills in general, it should be seen as a placement, and count it as such, rather than a holiday job. It may be inscribed in an educational context through accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL), if the organization can be convinced that the person in question has sought out learning situations during the stay rather than just focused on having a good time or earning as much money as possible. Other activities in this borderline category are au pair placements and voluntary work in charitable institutions and organisations, e.g. as financed under the European Voluntary Service. The practice of some companies to send employees abroad in foreign subsidiaries for a period of time in order to acquire specific competences may also be considered under this label. It should