.jpg?v=1)
The European project entitled SWOT was funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme, KA2 - Strategic Partnership for vocational education and training. The SWOT European project has been written and coordinated by Pixel in cooperation with the project applicant and scientific coordinator Casa Corpului Didactic based in Tirgu Mures (Romania). The SWOT European project aims at improving the cooperation between VET providers and companies in order to develop Work Based Learning approaches and market oriented training offer for the Tourism Sector.
Funding Programme
Erasmus+ Programme, KA2 Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training
Theme
Entrepreneurship
Target group
Vocational Education and Training
Project Reference
2017-1-RO01-KA202-037308
Date
01-09-2017 | 31-08-2019
Role of Pixel
Technical Coordinator
Project Details
Project Title
Skills for Work Opportunities in Eno-gastronomy and Tourism
Context
Science education is a key factor for European economy and society’s future competitiveness.
The tourism sector accounts for almost 25 million jobs in Europe (around 11% of the total employment). The sector provides employment both to highly qualified, as well as to low-skilled workers. It offers job opportunities to both workers who enter the job market for the first time and to people re-entering the job market. It is the largest employer of migrant workers, part-time workers, as well as female workers, and young people.
However skills mismatch is among the fundamental problems hampering the competitiveness of the tourism industry. The competences acquired by tourism professionals at all levels of the skills spectrum during education and training often do not match the expected performance.
VET providers have a limited understanding of the requirements of employers and expectations of travellers in terms of the service provided.
At the same time, youth unemployment in the European Union remains unacceptably high, while many tourism enterprises are missing out on the best talent.
European institutions and VET stakeholders and policy makers have a convergent consensus on enhancing the effectiveness of Work based learning approaches as crucial for addressing and solving labour market imbalances.
Objectives
In order to answer to the above mentioned needs the project AIMS to:
- Improve the cooperation between VET providers and companies so as to provide a market oriented training offer and business driven learning paths to the VET students of Tourism and Eno-Gastronomy.
- Offer work based learning opportunities (internships, apprenticeships and dual paths) to VET students and improve their effectiveness.
- Improve the accessibility and internationalization of VET training offer and of work based learning approaches through the exploitation of ICT in order to match the needs of the companies and the expectations of the trainees.
Target Group
Within the above described Rational the following common challenges and related NEEDS:
- VET providers need to ameliorate the cooperation between them and companies to provide a market oriented training offer and driving learning paths to VET students to turn the kills mismatch into competitiveness of the tourism industry and to give a high quality, innovative and customized service for a wide range on target group including seniors or travellers with special needs.
- VET providers needs to increase the engagement of companies of the tourism sector and to involve companies manager that do not have enough time resources to be fully involved in training activities and therefore VET providers have to rely on less qualified companies’ staff.
- VET providers needs to provide VET students with enhanced Work Based Learning methods and tools based on the full exploitation of ICT and multimedia communication potential. WBL experiences (internships, apprenticeships and dual paths) are usually related to a small (or anyway insufficient) number of companies and as a consequence they lack in effectiveness for the trainees. Also they do not address enough the international dimension which, at the contrary, is a key issue for the qualification of tourism and gastronomy within a globalized market.
Results
The SWOT project expects to achieve the following results:
- Motivate VET students specially students at risk of dropping out , by providing them with enhanced Work Based Learning methods and tools based on the full exploitation of ICT and multimedia communication potential.
- Provide VET students with an improved awareness of the importance for companies that human resources they are going to select, have both the technical and professional skills to perform the specific task and the basic and transversal skills that can be acquired only by completing VET education.
Creation of a transnational network of VET providers, companies and social partners cooperating for:
- Enhance the participation of managers and responsible of Tourism and Eno-Gastronomy companies in the training of the future human resources, through the use of the communication potential of Media and ICT
- Making available a market oriented training offer and business driven learning paths, based on the full implementation of work based learning approaches, to the VET students of Tourism and Eno-Gastronomy sector.
- Sharing best practices in organising local, regional, national and international WBL experiences