The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of vocational education in the tourism industry (hospitality, catering) conducted by the Partners and the entities cooperating with them through the development of two main results of the project: 1. a report including a research study on the needs of employers in the tourism industry from different countries regarding current skills and professional gaps in the labor market 2. a handbook covering remote forms and tools of vocational support provided by institutions outside the local market. The developed documents allowed to apply recommendations to increase the quality of vocational training services provided. In addition, they contribute to raising the qualifications of staff and teachers and trainers of partner institutions and increase the quality of work and attractiveness of vocational training offer of partner institutions.
The tourism industry has been severely affected by the pandemic. The main need of the tourism industry, as outlined by the survey, is the need for rapid retraining of tourism industry employees and training of new employees in line with the current requirements of the post-pandemic labor market. This necessitates the adaptation of training offerings by Partners that are organizers and providers of vocational training to keep up with changing international trends. This applies to employees of various jobs in hotels, tourist resorts, restaurants and other accommodation and catering facilities. The present Project and the developed results are a response to the need for a thorough overhaul of the content and form of vocational training in the tourism sector, so that those completing the training acquire qualifications adapted to current labor market requirements.