BadgeTour aimed to enhance the skills of managers and trainers in the VET tourism sector in recognising and certifying the competences of learners through the use of micro-credentials. Emphasis was put on the importance of competence recognition through micro-credentials, in order to support learners and workers in the presentation of skills acquired in different contexts. The project contributed to the efforts of the European Commission's to combat high unemployment rates in the tourism sector by strengthening the competencies of trainers and VET managers. The project aimed to fill the training gap and to support organisations and individuals in the implementation of digital badging practices in the VET sector. The COVID-19 pandemic made it even more necessary to improve the skills in the tourism sector to address the negative impact of the industry and the project supported VET managers and trainers in acquiring skills necessary to deliver micro-credentials to new professionals in the tourism sector.
The BadgeTour project was based on the importance of digital media and digital badges in vocational education and training. The main need for the project was to develop a common approach to micro-credentials that would guarantee quality cross-border comparability, recognition and transferability, as called for by the European Commission in the EU 2020 skills agenda. Furthermore, BadgeTour aimed to address the need for professional development among VET managers and trainers in the tourism sector in microcredentialing. The objective was to enable trainers to effectively identify competences and validate the learning process of learners through the use of micro-credentials. The project attempted to bridge the skills gap reported by employers in SMEs in the tourism sector by offering training and certification of competences and the need to upgrade employees' skills to adapt to emerging trends and cater for specific groups of visitors as well as promoting digital and green skills.