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“Sustainability skills for HoReCa / Aim2Sustain“

ERASMUS+ KA220-VET – Cooperation partnerships in vocational education and training project

No. 2022-1-LT01-KA220-VET-000085675

It is no secret that the interest and concern about sustainability is increasing among HoReCa stakeholders – investors, owners, customers, employees, VET administrative and teaching staff, etc. Sustainability can reflect on the process that demands initiatives and an understanding of how the HoReCa sector can become more environmentally, socially, and economically responsible. Becoming more sustainable refers not only to making business operations more efficient and practical but also to staying relevant in the ever-evolving and competitive market and being able to respond to current and future market demands. Osnabrück Declaration 2020 (EC) identifies sustainability as one of the challenges to be addressed by VET (Cedefop, n.d). This report reveals that sustainability is not a separate subject – it is embedded across all relevant learning areas; therefore, education on sustainability should be incorporated as a cross-curriculum priority across all curriculum areas.

The Aim of the project:

Results of the project:

– to promote education on sustainability in the VET sector in order to develop sustainability competence of hotel, restaurant, catering (HoReCa) employees contributing to an overall sustainability strategy.

Objectives:

  1. Identify sustainability action areas and skills requirements and criteria in the HoReCa sector;
  2. Create appropriate teaching/learning content on sustainability topics in accordance with HoReCa  sector requirements.
  3. Build VET teachers’ capacity in teaching sustainability for working life.
  4. Expand students’ understanding of sustainable work culture in the HoReCa sector.
  5. Ensure link between VET and HoReCa labour market demands.

  1. Guidelines for Sustainability as a Competence in HoReCa.
  2. Online Aim2Sustain learning space on sustainability in HoReCa related topics hosting Open Educational Resources (OERs). All materials will be available in the languages of the project consortium: Bulgarian, Dutch, Greek, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish, as well as English.
  3. Transnational dissemination conference.

The direct target groups of the project include:

  1. VET providers, VET trainers, learners, apprentices in the HoReCa sector across Europe.
  2. HoReCa sector employees.
  3. Associations, networks, social partners, enterprises operating in the HoReCa  sector.

The indirect target group includes other education providers i.e. secondary schools, HEIs.

Partners

Verslo ir svetingumo profesinės karjeros centras VESK , Lithuania – Project Coordinator

Verslo ir svetingumo profesinės karjeros centras VESK (Business and Hospitality Training Centre) offers high-quality education for young people, adults and people in employment. It is a public provider of initial and continuous vocational training programmes based in Vilnius, with its branch departments located in the northern, north-eastern and southern parts of Lithuania. The number of students enrolled in initial VET programmes is over 1,000, while adult education and re-training courses are provided to approx. 3,000 people yearly.

The Centre offers a diverse range of courses and excellent facilities in the following areas and trades:

  • Restaurants, Hotels and Tourism;
  • Beauty Care;
  • Social and Health Care;
  • Business, Trade and Administration;

The training is performed in the workshops and laboratories equipped with up-to-date machinery and tools. Two sectoral practical training centres – Hotel & Restaurant and Trade & Business have been established at the school to offer modern practical training environment to VET students, unemployed people, higher education students (who can use the practical training centres for internships and practical training sessions) and employees of enterprises.

VESK has established close networking links with employers and the local industry, which ensures that the courses prepare students for the careers they intend to pursue. It is a member of AEHT – Association of European Hotel and Tourism Schools, Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, other sector-related associations and organizations.

https://www.vesk.lt/in-english/

iTED Lab – Chios, Greece

The Laboratory of Innovative Tourism Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Development (iTED Lab) was founded in 2021 at the Department of Tourism Economics and Management of the University of the Aegean. It serves the educational and research needs of the Department in the disciplines of tourism, tourism management, entrepreneurship, management of tourism enterprises. innovation in tourism, management and development of human resources, tourism development, tourism policy and planning, special forms of tourism and related entrepreneurship, marketing and promotion, distance education – training in tourism, collaborative networks, communication and IT technologies in tourism, etc.

Members of the iTED Lab are highly esteemed researchers and Professors, postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D. candidates of the relevant department or other academic institutions, with research objects that fall within the teaching and research interests of the Laboratory.

The University of the Aegean was founded in 1984. It is a Network University of “academic ports of studies and research” successfully established in 6 campuses spread across the Aegean Archipelago and offers a unique academic, natural, cultural and human environment to experience. University of the Aegean has established strong partnerships and effective communication with several National, European and International Universities, Institutions, Organizations, Authorities and the Public. It is a strong social and economic factor and acts as Regional Innovator in the 2 Greek Regions of the Aegean Archipelago: The North Aegean and the South Aegean Region.

The Department of Tourism Economics and Management is the newest Department of the University of the Aegean. However, its foundations are based, on the one hand, in the academic legacy of the University of the Aegean’s long-standing tradition of innovation, interdisciplinarity and problem-solving, and on the other hand, in the long-term scientific and applied experience in tourism that comes from the operation, as early as 1998, of the first Master’s Degree Program in Tourism in Greece.

http://ited.tourem.aegean.gr/en/

Danmar Computers – Poland

Danmar Computers LLC is a private company operating in the field of Information Technology and providing vocational training in this field. Danmar has extensive experience in developing modern Web and mobile applications that are used for educational purposes. Danmar also has long-term experience of carrying out European projects within which the company’s R&D staff conducts research and prepares training tailored to the needs of various learners. During 22 years, Danmar has successfully implemented over 100 projects within Grundtvig, Leonardo da Vinci, Progress and Erasmus+. In many of these projects, Danmar was responsible for designing and coordinating dissemination strategies.

Danmar Computers is the developer and provider of AdminProject, the online system for the management of European projects. All activities of the company are based on wide and well-established cooperation network, both on national and international levels. The national networks include training and counselling institutions, universities, schools, non-governmental organizations as well as private sector companies. International networks include partners of various profiles coming from every European Union’s country. Danmar Computer’s mission is the promotion of life-long education and assurance of equal access to education for everyone with the use of modern technology.

https://danmar-computers.com.pl

Kolez International – Dobrich, Bulgaria

International College (Mezhdunaroden Kolezh) is a reputable youth and adult education institution. It uses innovative teaching methods and information technologies based on established experience and traditions.

The mission of International College is to work for the modernization of vocational and adult education in Bulgaria and promote a better understanding of the interconnections between the labour market and formal, non-formal, vocational, higher and other forms of teaching and learning.

Keeping the main focus on the tourism and culinary sectors in Bulgaria, with in-depth expertise and experience in curricula development, skills recognition, elaboration of methodological guidelines and development of study paths across VET and higher education, as throughout the years, the institution has educated a number of trainees in the fields of Tourism, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Culinary Arts, Hotel Management, etc.

It is a member of a network of over 40 profit and non-profit legal entities, including the Business and Culture Center and the Board of Founders and Donors of the Varna University of Management (https://vum.bg/), an international business school located in Europe, Bulgaria.

http://www.mk-edu.eu

Turismo de Portugal, I.P. – Lisboa, Portugal[;es]Turismo de Portugal, IP – Lisboa, Portugal

Operating under the auspices of the Ministry of the Economy and Maritime Affairs​​, Turismo de Portugal is Portugal’s National Tourism Authority.

Turismo de Portugal is responsible for the promotion, enhancement, and sustainability of the tourism business, it brings together all the institutional competencies involved in making tourism more dynamic, from supply to demand.

Enjoying a privileged relationship with other public entities and economic agents in Portugal and abroad, Turismo de Portugal is committed to strengthening tourism as one of the main driving forces for the growth of the Portuguese economy.

Mission

  • Promote Portugal as a tourist destination;
  • Support the development of infrastructures for tourism and investment in the sector;
  • Foster the training of human resources;
  • Regulate and conduct inspections of games of chance.

https://www.turismodeportugal.pt

Markeut Skills Sociedad Limitada – Picassent, Spain

Born in 2017, MEUS is a private organization based in Valencia, Spain, aimed at improving the skills of people in their environment, both professionally and privately, as well as at all stages of their lives, from school to college. adult education.

In line with the European strategy on education, MEUS works on the development of new training materials and methodologies adapted to the different objectives and needs of the economic market, in order to improve integration in the world of work.

MEUS comes from the collaboration of two professional experts in the field of project development and management, entrepreneurship and consulting, with a European scope. Together and on their own, they have developed many EU projects, mainly in the field of education and entrepreneurship, from different EU programs such as Erasmus +, COSME-EYE, LIFE, PROGRESS, EAsI, ERASMUS+, CIVIL SOCIETY, among others. Their deep knowledge of their regional environment enables them to reach a wide range of key target groups and stakeholders in different sectors.

http://meuskills.eu/

Roc Mondriaan – The Hague, Netherlands

ROC Mondriaan aktywnie przyczynia się do rozwoju gospodarczego i społecznego Hagi (NL) i okolicznych regionów. ROC Mondriaan uczy 25 000 uczniów szkół zawodowych i 4 000 dorosłych. Zatrudnia około 1900 nauczycieli i pracowników.

Promujemy partycypację społeczną naszych uczniów, oferując szkolenia zawodowe, kształcenie ogólne i kursy związane z pracą.

W ten sposób zajmujemy centralną pozycję w trójkącie rynek pracy – uczeń – edukacja. Dobre relacje z firmami, instytucjami publicznymi oraz władzami lokalnymi i krajowymi mają tu kluczowe znaczenie.

Budowanie pomostu

Oferując wysokiej jakości i profesjonalne programy, budujemy pomost między naszymi studentami a rynkiem pracy.

Stale śledzimy zmiany na rynku pracy, które wykorzystujemy w naszym systemie edukacyjnym.

Wizja edukacyjna

Dbamy o współczesnego studenta, który musi radzić sobie ze zmianami w społeczeństwie i świecie zawodowym. Naszym celem jest zachęcanie i prowadzenie studentów w odkrywaniu ich cech, tak aby rozwijali się i byli optymalnie przygotowani do uczestnictwa w rynku pracy.

https://www.rocmondriaan.nl/english