500 students attend the Secondary school for catering and tourism Maribor (SŠGT MB), 50 teaching staff, 2 social workers and administrative and technical staff are employed. Every year there are more students who belong to the category of young people with fewer opportunities and those who need additional professional help. SŠGT MB faces several challenges and, of course, opportunities, which are also reflected in the Slovenian labour market. Catering and tourism is a steadily growing industry, and the lack of quality and qualified staff is increasing over the years. At the school, we are therefore faced with many pressures from the economic sector to obtain quality staff, but at the same time we are all fighting together to ensure that the staff stays in Slovenia and does not go abroad. Also, on the part of future students, mainly due to the covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions suffered by the gastronomic and tourism sector, there is less and less interest and demand for education for the professions that this sector needs. This is a challenge for the entire region, as well as our country and countries further south and east of us. Another challenge that we feel more strongly than ever is the competition in the field of public and private education. All too many schools are under pressure in the area of ensuring a sufficient number of students, additional promotion of our work and much more is required, which does not actually belong directly to the profession of a school teacher, but due to new circumstances, the need has arisen to deal with the role of marketing and therefore we need to make the school, the program and the teachers attractive, in order to present in an innovative way the knowledge that the students acquire during their schooling and thereby ensure a suitable annual enrolment. The new role of students in the school system should also not be neglected. Because of the new technologies and media, young people have been gripped by a general passivity and inactivity, which was further exacerbated by the pandemic and the distance education they were forced into. In addition to all that, it is necessary to invest additional time in motivating young people and find a direction for the fulfilment of their life and also social goals. In recent years, the number of students with special needs has grown, which requires additional work and dedication. And last but not least, the last challenge is to prevent burnout and demotivation of teaching staff. We addressed all of the above by involving students and teachers in the European project – we see the first step in solving the challenges we are facing in offering added value thanks to such programs and presenting it as such to both students and staff. The long-term plan of SŠGT MB is multifaceted in view of the challenges listed above, and in the future we also want to integrate into the international environment by participating in various European projects, through which we find that practically the entire gastronomic and tourism sector, starting with schools, is involved in the European area with similar challenges: - acquisition of quality educational staff with rich international experience, integration and transfer of good practices to our environment, - sharing the knowledge of educational staff with young people in such a way as to establish appropriate values among young students, - establishment of an international environment in the form of personnel exchange and enrichment of knowledge and experience for both students and teachers, - the inclusion of young people who come from underprivileged backgrounds, with long-term unemployed parents or families with the aim of social integration and integration into the labour market. All these goals require a qualified staff, which does not only include teachers or pedagogical competences, but lifelong learning competences. The process is long-term, includes regular training, coordination and cooperation between professional services and teachers. Every student is important and crucial both for himself to fulfil his life goals and tasks, for his loved ones, for the school, the environment where he lives, the country and, last but not least, for the EU. Rich past experiences in the field of exchange of good practices, mobility of students and teachers have shown the need for a correspondingly stronger international cooperation, which is difficult to implement without such school projects. We are aware that the listed competencies are not listed in the school curriculum as a priority, but EU programs with additional educational programs allow us to focus on this increasingly important aspect of education as well. We perceive that schools have also taken on the task of empowering students who come from a socially weaker environment and that we are the institution that must take care of their inclusion if we want to use their potential and place them on the labour market. What is even more worrying is that SŠGT MB is aware that there will be even more students with special needs in the future, mainly due to external social factors such as unemployment, mental distress of parents, financial obstacles, etc. At SŠGT MB, we are facing these challenges and we are trying to overcome them with our joint efforts as best as possible for the benefit of the students in such a way that they devote themselves even more to their future employment and to place at the center of their efforts the mentality that they too can be the best in their field. In the second largest city, which still has a relatively high unemployment rate, we are dealing with this in a way that focuses even more on the education of professions that are in short supply and thus fights against youth unemployment. Students often come from a social environment where unemployment has become the norm, which affects young people, their motivation and perception of the value of work. That's why we try to direct them to areas that are creative and provide good employment and personal growth. We are aware that achieving this goal is challenging, that it is a process that requires almost individual work with students who come from such backgrounds, but particularly with the help of European projects we can make a significant difference. Students need constant motivation, confirmation of their knowledge and skills, which goes beyond school assessment. Only in this way can we inculcate in them the mentality that employment is a value, that it fulfils the individual and enables him to achieve other personal goals. The most common challenge we face is that young people are not ready to work on Sundays, holidays and work free days, which is a necessity in hospitality and tourism. Regardless of the high needs in the professions, later on the vast majority prefer to retrain, which is a great loss considering the knowledge they possess, and as a result the quality in the sector declines. This is an additional motive to motivate more young people for a career in the hospitality and tourism industry, to show them the competitive advantages of the profession through international cooperation, and as a result to ensure at the national level enough quality personnel who will alternate working even in shifts and on days that are now unwanted for work. The goals and purpose of the project have also been included in the school's strategy and development plan, as they represent an excellent foundation and starting point for the key values that we want to pass on to the students, while at the same time motivating them to increase enrolment on the one hand and persistence in the profession on the other: - to acquire high-quality and interesting projects within the school program, which will be even more oriented towards the final goal, i.e. the provision of greater knowledge or students' competences, - the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities in these learning processes with a focus on encouraging education, motivation, activity and thus subsequent employment - increasing the exchange of knowledge, experience and practices of both students and teachers in the EU environment.
Secondary school for catering and tourism Maribor has been active in the field of European projects for a long time. Nevertheless, it continuously refines its knowledge both in the field of applications for projects and in the field of gastronomy and tourism. The acquisition of new skills and the transfer of good practices is the main purpose of the projects on which it participates since it wants to enable students and teachers to personal and career development at the highest level which can doubtlessly be achieved by mobility. Since international cooperation is primarily intended for students who come from a socially weaker environment, this kind of experience also contributes to the social inclusion of students who, without this program, would not have had the opportunity to learn about the international environment and other cultures. This time we sent 18 pupils from the field of gastronomy and tourism to acquire new knowledge, and above all, the sense of work and life in a different cultural environment. In spite of the fact that work practice was carried out in countries (Austria and Croatia), which are very close to us, we are quite different in culture and cuisine. Students have been practising working practice at the premises of partner organizations or with companies recommended by partner organizations. Knowledge gained by pupils on exchange or practice will enable them to enter the labour market more easily, and they certainly impressed their peers at school to go for an exchange as well. Within the project, we also sent 6 teachers and professional staff to exchange. Through the so-called job shadowing in Portugal, Serbia and Austria, they learned about the learning environment, methods of work and examples of good practices that can be implemented in the home environment, including the inclusion of students with fewer opportunities. The participants have acquired knowledge in the field of gastronomy, tourism and hosting, and gained insight into the operation of learning hotels and other catering establishments. The acquired knowledge will be put into the curriculum by teachers, thus spreading knowledge among colleagues and transferring it to pupils. In addition, they gained insight and knowledge on how to include students with fewer opportunities in the school system (students with special needs, deficits in individual learning areas). This aspect of involvement in European projects is particularly valuable to us, as there are not many programs in this field in Slovenia, while teachers and professional staff report that they would need more knowledge with which to cope with the challenges which arise when working with such target groups. All participants gained knowledge, ideas, international acquaintances through the project and created a stimulating environment for further cooperation and implementation of joint activities on (European) projects. All participants gained knowledge, ideas, international acquaintances through the project and created a stimulating environment for further cooperation and implementation of joint activities on (European) projects. In addition to professional skills, different competencies have also been increased to participants, such as: - intercultural competence and the recognition and recognition of the cultural wealth of the inhabitants of the EU and other countries - acquiring new ICT knowledge that is essential for professional growth (online learning, learning about various applications that promote team work) - inclusion and care for young people with fewer opportunities (providing additional motivation to students, recognizing their problems either in the family or outside, additional support through professional services of the school, positive discrimination of those facing any problems) - the importance of learning, which was transmitted among the participants in a formal way, and in their free time informal or casual way that contributed to new knowledge and forged friendships that are maintained even after mobility.