The hospitality sector is an important part of the European economy, experiencing strong growth. Its 1.8 million enterprises support about 16.6 million jobs, of which 10.2 million directly. Success of the sector depends on the quality of people working in it, their recruitment, training and management. However, seasonality of tourism is an important factor that affects the quality of the workforce. The seasonal workforce ranges between 18% in Italy to an estimated 40% in Croatia and Greece. A sizeable proportion of seasonal workers does not have sector specific experience or formal training. At the same time, the sector’s investment in on-the-job or work-based training is low and restricted to large hotel chains, while the prevalent small and medium size hospitality enterprises (SMHE) lack access to quality training opportunities for their staff. Against this broader context, the overall objective of the SeasonReady project is to improve competitiveness of hospitality and tourism sector by fostering the productivity, professionalism and efficiency of the seasonal workforce through the development and implementation of a work-based learning program designed to meet the needs of employers and workers. The specific objectives of the SeasonReady project are: • To assist enterprises in the development of motivated, skilled, confident and dependable workers in three key areas of hospitality – front-line operations, food and beverages services and housekeeping • To develop a training methodology based on the principles of work-based learning adaptable to local and regional context • To assist potential in-house trainers to develop skills and training techniques to ensure training is effective to both employees and employers • To provide seasonal workers with the proper mix of skills, knowledge and attitudes required for a job in hospitality sector • To provide recommendations to stakeholders for the further development of a sustainable WBL methodology in SMHE at regional and national level SeasonReady project is designed to address the following target groups: Direct: a) seasonal employees in hospitality sector, specifically those working in jobs related to front office, food and beverages and housekeeping and b) hospitality firms’ owners/operators/managers in charge of recruitment, training and management of human resources. About 150 persons will be directly involved in SeasonReady project activities through research, piloting and direct contact with stakeholders, with further 270 participating in multiplier events. Indirect: Professional hospitality and tourism associations, VET schools, teachers and trainers (initial and continuous VET), tourism and tourism education related policy makers and administrators. Through dissemination activities it is estimated that 45000 organisations and individuals will be reached. The SeasonReady program development will start with research to develop a sound theoretical framework based on the principles of work-based training, insights from good practices and understanding of user needs through qualitative and quantitative research. This will be followed by the design of the SeasonReady training program, consisting of a) work-based learning framework and methodology providing complete strategy and guidelines for creating and implementing an effective need-driven work-based learning strategies, and b) the SeasonReady training material, translated to partner languages and tested/piloted in front office, food and beverage and housekeeping section of hospitality enterprises in all three partner countries. Finally, for mainstreaming the results of a SeasonReady program a Guide for Policy Makers, Stakeholders and VET Providers will be produced as a key tool for dissemination and wide implementation of the program in hospitality enterprises reliant on seasonal workers. In short, the impact expected is that the project will improve job-related skills of seasonal workers, increase their employability and set them on a career path in hospitality and related service jobs. For hospitality enterprises it will contribute to improved productivity, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness of services, thus improving overall competitiveness of the European tourism and hospitality industry while helping curbing unemployment and get people back to work. SeasonReady is holding great prospects for improving the quality and sustainability of work-based C-VET in hospitality particularly at local and regional levels for small-medium enterprises.
Context/background of the project: Tourism and hospitality industry is an important part of the European economy and more so in the Mediterranean countries. Europe wide, its 1.8 million businesses support 10.2 million direct jobs (16.6 million including indirect). The success of the sector, among other things, depends also on the quality of people working in it – how they are recruited and managed, trained and educated, valued and rewarded, and supported through a process of continuous learning and career development. On the other hand, current research shows that a significant number of seasonal hospitality workers does not have specific training and experience in the tourism sector and that the investments in structured in-house training and work-based learning (WBL) are low. Family-owned hotels, small and medium-size enterprises lack access to quality training opportunities for their staff. Also, the continuous vocational education and training system for tourism and hospitality is out of tune with industry requirements and it is slowly responding to the sector's needs. Objectives: As a reaction to this situation, SeasonReady project aimed to develop an effective and sustainable framework for continuing education and training in the tourism and hospitality sector, addressed at small and medium-sized enterprises employing seasonal staff. The overall objective of the SeasonReady project was to improve the competitiveness of hospitality and tourism sector by fostering productive, professional and efficient seasonal workforce through development and implementation of a WBL program designed to meet the needs of employers and seasonal workers. The specific objectives of the project were: - To assist enterprises in the development of motivated, skilled, confident and dependable workers in three key areas of hospitality – front-line operations, food and beverages services and housekeeping; - To develop a training methodology based on the principles of work-based learning adaptable to local and regional context; - To assist potential in-house trainers to develop skills and training techniques to ensure training is effective to both employees and employers; - To provide seasonal workers with the proper mix of skills, knowledge and attitudes required for a job in the hospitality sector; - To provide recommendations to stakeholders for the further development of a sustainable WBL methodology in SMHE at the regional and national level. Number and profile of participants: Project activities have been delivered by a transnational consortium, composed of 6 partners from 3 EU countries, all having profound experience and expertise in the field of education in tourism. The partnership consists of the Institute for Tourism (Croatia), CESIE (Italy), Confesercenti (Italy), Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (Croatia), Olympic Training & Consulting Ltd. (Greece) and Peloponnese Tourism Organization (Greece). Description of undertaken activities: In order to achieve above-mentioned objectives, following activities have been undertaken: a Desk research report was drafted and focus groups and survey of seasonal workers were implanted in order to gather information necessary to develop Research report on local/regional contexts and preconditions for successful introduction of WBL (IO1); based on results of IO1 Methodology guide for WBL in the hospitality sector was developed (IO2); a training materials containing 6 modules (Customer service; Communication; Personal and professional development; Front office; Food and beverages service; Housekeeping) were developed, piloted in all partner countries and adjusted according the piloting results and translated in partner languages (Croatian, Italian and Greek) and posted online on project website, free of charge (IO3); focus groups and interviews were implemented in order to gather information necessary to develop Guide with recommendations for the adoption of WBL in small and medium hospitality enterprises (SMHE) for policymakers (IO4). Results and impact attained: As a result of conducted activities, a training materials has been designed accommodating the needs of direct target group (seasonal employees in hospitality sector, specifically those working in jobs related to front office, food and beverages and housekeeping and hospitality business owners and managers in charge of recruitment, training and management of human resources). The training materials, developed in all 4 project languages, are available online at: http://www.seasonready.eu/outcomes/ . It provides end-users with a practical, interactive, learning and training materials structured around self-contained, short and focused 6 modules, with background concepts, tools and techniques. This tested (piloted) and integrated training materials can be used at European level, beyond the project’s scope by representatives of direct and indirect target groups, through mainstreaming and multiplication.