The goal of the "Caterers On The Run" project is to further strengthen the key competencies of students in initial and continuous VET education through the development of strategic partnerships, develop professional competencies of vocational teachers in VET education and support the establishment and internationalization of the implementation of VET strategies. Hospitality is a branch of the economy of every state, that has been globally continuously and rapidly developing in the past decade. Therefore, hospitality educational profiles are increasingly in demand, however, in most cases, education programs for these professions do not follow the demands of the labor market at sufficient speed. For these reasons, there is a need to strengthen the key competencies of basic and continuing vocational education through additional training. The result of this project, "Caterers On The Run", is to develop a handbook describing the steps of catering business as a part of hospitality industry with a growing demand. Three schools of vocational education are involved in the project, the Secondary School of Economics Sombor from Serbia, as the project coordinator, AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS DE BARCELOS from Portugal and the Stredna Odborna Skola from Slovakia as strategic partners in the project. All three schools have some of the key competencies necessary for the development of the "Caterers On The Run", manual, and through the implementation of their basic and practical knowledge, they can train the other two schools and draw up a segment of handbooks from their field of competence. Thus, the Srednja ekonomska škola Sombor has the task of preparing educational materials of the segment of cookery and serving, the Stredna Odborna Skola segment of bakery and confectionery while AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS DE BARCELOS prepares educational material of the entrepreneurial segment in the catering business. Implementation of the project implies a number of activities that lead to the ultimate result- the development of the"Caterers On The Run" manual - such as: selecting project team members, project team meetings, market analysis, gathering necessary information, creating work materials, training members of project teams by segments of catering services , practical application of a type of catering service, preparation of manual materials, final drafting of manuals in printed and electronic form, creation and updating of the website with information on the project, informing the public about the result of the project through the media, the Internet and the conference. The expected results of the project are to strengthen and improve the competence of teachers of professional subjects in the schools of catering and entrepreneurial profiles, to enable pupils through additional education to acquire knowledge and skills that will facilitate them and provide better chances for finding a job or starting their own businesses, reduce the gap in supply and demand in the labor market, and provide information on catering services to organizations and institutions whose interests are education, hospitality, entrepreneurship and legislation. Also, the joint implementation of the project with the schools from Portugal and Slovakia enables the introduction of different cultural characteristics, the development of language competences and the establishment of long-term cooperation at the international level.
The main goal of this project is to enhance the quality of training and learning as a part of vocational education which is the main idea through this innovative educational module ‘Caterers on the run” Through theory and practice, students will be introduced with catering service as a branch of food service industry. They will also be able to see the extremely creative and dynamic side of their future profession and the fact that acquiring particular knowledge in this area provides them with better chances at finding job, and joining labor market not only in Serbia but also in the European labor market and in the world. On the other hand, they can become entrepreneurs by starting up their own catering service company.
Food service industry is a branch of economy which has been globally and rapidly developing in the last 10 years. Food Service Management schools that contain vocational courses use curriculums which are pretty outdated. Throughout these vocational programs, students are able to acquire knowledge and skills which do not satisfy caterer’s needs and labor market neither in Serbia nor in Europe. Food Service Management is a branch of Catering which implies that the final user is provided with different types of service, not in a traditional food service industry manner, it includes various ways; from delivering already prepared meals to the exact location to doing everything on the spot by an expert team of caterers. Catering service implies that the client gets full service which is offered, that has been made according to the client’s needs to final preparation and service which is carried out by the expert team. This is a part of food service industry which demands chefs, confectionary chefs, and waiters with special professional skills and also takes the skills of planning, organization, production, service and marketing. This type of service is gaining popularity nowadays due to shortage of time for organizing parties.