The project objectives, all positively achieved, were: - facilitate the mobility, employability and participation of recent graduates in the European labour market thanks to innovative high-quality WBL paths, guaranteed by the past performance and the reliability of partners/tutors of whom we have direct knowledge, in countries that traditionally count on a well developed hospitality industry and with strong links between school and industry; - develop vocational and communicative-relational skills in the chosen sector; - enhance the awareness of European citizenship and the education to a multicultural approach with the aim of improving inclusion and preventing xenophobic behaviours; - foster long-term cooperation between vocational schools and companies by offering mobility paths which are in line with the needs of the local area and the hospitality industry; - enhance European networking and strengthen the partners’ internationalization process; - offer equal opportunities of participation and skills acquisition to young people who would not have ventured into transnational mobility independently, due to lack of knowledge of the opportunities offered or low self-esteem or because socio-culturally less advantaged.
The local context in which ECHOS.5 PRO is inserted is an area traditionally with a tourist vocation that still shows a risk of loss of competitiveness in today’s Hospitality market due to the early call to work and the consequent inadequate level of education and training. On the other hand, the qualified jobs in the HoReCa sector are, both locally, nationally and internationally, one of the areas that is expected to grow more strongly, especially in the post-Covid scenario; it can offer various career opportunities to the qualified personnel who can demonstrate flexibility and high technical-professional and transversal skills. With this in mind the project, designed by IPSAR Carnacina as a sending organization and initially by 13 host partners (reduced to 6, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemics) belonging to the European network CHASE-Consortium of Hospitality &Accommodation Schools of Europe, which includes both sending and receiving institutions, aimed at meeting the needs of the local and European hospitality industry to employ staff who is better vocationally qualified and equipped with the innovative skills associated with the new Food&Beverage and HoReCa job profiles.