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Description
The purpose of the project proposed by the college is the training and professional development in the European context of the teachers and representatives of the economic agent, involved in carrying out the internships of the students from the specialization Technician in tourism. Proposed objectives: Increasing the degree of insertion on the labour market of graduates from the specialization Technician in tourism; The improvement of the abilities/competencies of the high school teachers who teach specialized disciplines (VET) at the Tourism classes; The improvement of the tutoring competencies for the economic agent partner in the project.
A number of 5 teachers and 5 people from the partner economic agent will participate in the study visit. The activities in which the teachers will participate are: visiting the host; direct observation of the way in which the practical training internships of the students from the host school are carried out; carrying out specific activities within the tourist units where the students have the practical training internships; analysis of specific documents.
The expected learning outcomes are: Professional skills in the field of tourism; Knowledge of practices, policies and education systems in another country, Cyprus. Communication skills.
The benefits of the project are: improving efficiency at work, developing students'' professional and entrepreneurial skills, improving access to the labor market in tourism, developing and promoting an educational offer adapted to local and regional level, the implementation of European level CDLs adapted to the local needs.
Summary of project results
The project was necessary because an analysis at the institution level revealed the following: the small offer of optional subjects; the low insertion of graduates on the labor market (10% of graduates work in the field); the absence of a school workshop for functional practice , properly equipped for the field of Tourism (it is being developed through the ROSE project); the negative influence of the pandemic on the professional skills that the students had to acquire through practical training courses, these being carried out predominantly online, in the form of training companies; the small number of national/European educational activities/projects carried out at the school level for VET students; the low motivation of students for learning as well as the predominantly theoretical training of high school students and poor practical training.The difficulties encountered in the organization of students'' internships were mainly related to the average to small capacity to receive tourists of the guesthouses in the Valea Doftanei area, so that the capacity to receive students in practice is also reduced (between 2 and a maximum of 15 students/ class/ internship). In this situation, the students’ training is somewhat differentiated depending on the unit where the students do their practical training. For this project, I chose the economic agent where most of the students in the school do their internship. Other problems were related to: the situation imposed by the pandemic of the last years which affected the internships so that the knowledge acquired by the students was mostly only theoretical; the substantiation of the number of schooling that must be done in accordance with the real situation of the school population and the promotion of the school offer so that students to be attracted to our educational institution as well as the poor diversification of programs for optional subjects.
The activities carried out by the project consisted of training and establishing the attributions of the project team members, language training for the study visit participants, project launch activities, concluding practice agreements with economic agents (including the economic agent involved in the project), preparing the participants for the study visit, carrying out the study visit, preparing practice journals, evaluation guides, CDLs and the Romanian-English mini-dictionary, carrying out student internships as well as dissemination activities.The learning outcomes initially expected to be obtained by the teaching staff and students following the participation in the project were: professional competences in the field of tourism acquired from the European perspective, students'' practice diaries and evaluation guides, knowledge about practices, policies and education systems from different countries, communication skills, improving language skills and promoting the linguistic diversity of the European Union, Europass Mobility Document and participation certificates for teachers and representatives of the partner economic agent, professional qualification certificates for the Tourism Technician qualification, level 4, obtained with improved qualifications .
After the stusy visit, CDLs for the 9th and 10th grades, a Romanian-English mini-dictionary for conversations in the field of tourism, and a learning agreement with ECDL specifications were developed. Also from the collaboration with SC Top Resort SRL within this project, they came up with the proposal to conclude a contract for the introduction of dual education in the 2023-2024 school year, for a group of 10 students specializing in Hotel Worker.I disseminated the examples of good practice that I observed during the study visit to other economic agents through meetings organized with all economic agents involved in the students'' practice. In this way, we try to ensure uniform practical training for all students, according to European standards. By carrying out the practical training courses at this tourist unit, the students acquire European-level professional skills and can easily integrate into the job market in the field of Tourism. Cyprus is a country where quality tourist services are famous all over the world. During the study visit, we saw examples of good practice that we also apply.In the long term, the project will have an impact on economic development due to the following: the professional training of the students acquired during the project, thus constituting a qualified human resource in the field of tourism services and having possible future entrepreneurs in the field; the development and promotion of an educational offer adapted to the local and regional level to offer students the chance for professional training necessary for successful insertion on the labor market; local/regional educational policies through the materials; development plans; practice diaries and evaluation guides developed by the project team and the participants in the study visit; increasing the professional performance of the students in the professional certification exams as well as in the baccalaureate exam (better motivation of the students for learning and training); increasing the opportunities for European/international cooperation due to the established contacts and the development of future quality Erasmus+ projects; the sustainability of the project which will be ensured by the results of the project (practice journals, development plans, evaluation guides) which will be used by the members of the school community and the local community as well as the general public after dissemination activities.