Starting an Erasmus+ VET placement in Córdoba can feel like a lot of unknowns at once: a new city, a new language, a host company you’ve never met, and a routine you haven’t built yet. Here’s what that first week actually looks like.
Before you arrive, the groundwork is already done
By the time your flight lands, your Erasmus+ VET placement in Córdoba is already matched to your sector, your accommodation is booked, and your coordinator has a plan for your first days. You won’t be figuring any of this out on the fly — it’s set up before you leave home, as part of the wider Erasmus+ programme framework that makes these placements possible across Europe.
Day one: arrival and welcome
Someone from our Training Europe team meets your group on arrival, gets everyone settled into accommodation — whether that’s our own Mamre residence, a host family, or another option arranged for your group — and runs through the basics: where things are, how to get around, and what the week ahead looks like. It’s a long day, but it’s designed to take the stress out of landing somewhere new.
The first few days: settling in before stepping into placement
Before you walk into your host company, our student support team spends time with your group in person — showing you the city, explaining local transport, and making sure everyone feels oriented. This isn’t downtime tacked onto the programme; it’s a deliberate buffer so your first impression of your placement isn’t clouded by jet lag and unfamiliar streets.
Your Erasmus+ VET Placement in Córdoba: Meeting Your Host Company
Every Erasmus+ VET placement in Córdoba is matched to a host working in your sector — a workshop, an office, a salon, a school, wherever your training points you — not just the nearest company with space. Your coordinator introduces you, walks through what to expect, and stays your point of contact for anything that comes up during the placement, not just on day one.
Hands-on work or job shadowing — know which one you’re doing
Placements fall into two broad types, and it’s worth knowing which applies to you before week one starts. A hands-on placement means you’re doing real tasks under supervision — on a worksite, in a workshop, behind a counter. Job shadowing means observing a professional’s day-to-day work up close, asking questions, and learning how a workplace actually runs, without necessarily doing the tasks yourself. Both are valid, structured ways to learn — they just look different day to day.
Life outside the placement
Most groups also get a short local Spanish course and a couple of cultural activities during their stay in Córdoba — not mandatory tourism, just enough to make the city feel like somewhere you lived for a few weeks, not just somewhere you worked.
If something comes up
You’ll always have a named coordinator and, in the first days, our on-the-ground support team, so you’re never without someone to ask — whether it’s a question about your placement, your accommodation, or just how to find the nearest pharmacy.
The unknowns don’t disappear entirely — that’s part of what makes it a real experience abroad — but by the end of your first week, most students settling into an Erasmus+ VET placement in Córdoba have a routine, a host they’re comfortable with, and a much better sense of the city than they arrived with.
By the time the first week wraps up, most students already know their commute, their favourite café near the office, and which colleague to ask when something’s unclear. That’s really the goal: not a packed itinerary, but a soft landing that turns a new country into a place you can work in from day one.
Thinking about an Erasmus+ VET mobility, job shadowing programme or school exchange in Córdoba for your group? Get in touch through our project form and we’ll start planning.