The third transnational meeting of the “Employer Programme for Hospitality and Tourism” took place at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, School of Business and Services, from 9th to 10th November 2017. The aim of the project is to develop and systematise the cooperation between tourism businesses, tertiary-level educational institutions offering programmes of study in hospitality and tourism and their students. This will be achieved through a modern and efficient employer programme especially designed for hospitality and tourism. The implementation of the programme will be facilitated through an electronic platform which will be designed specifically for this purpose. The resulting benefits will be multiple for all stakeholders involved.
Seven partners from five countries across the European Union are involved in this programme, namely, the Higher Hotel Institute Cyprus, Mediterranean Management Centre (Cyprus), Cyprus Hotel Association, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, School of Business and Services (Finland), Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Gruppo4 (Italy) and Documenta (Spain).
During the 1st day of the project meeting (9th of November) the Project Coordinator i.e.the Higher Hotel Institute Cyprus, updated the partners on the ongoing progress the project. Next came presentations on ‘Dissemination’ by the Cyprus Hotel Association, followed by a presentation on ‘Quality Assurance’ by the Mediterranean Management Centre. The consortium agreed on the actions to be undertaken in the two areas.
The next topics presented were the ‘1st Part of the Best Practices Guide’ by the Mediterranean Management Centre and the ‘Recommendation Report’ by the Technological Educational Institute of Crete. A discussion followed on the requirements for the finalization of the two intellectual outputs.
During the afternoon of the same day, the Higher Hotel Institute Cyprus led a brain-storming workshop on the design of the operational manual which will guide the setting-up and operation of the system of cooperation and partnership. It was agreed that the proposed employer programme will be a holistic system, allowing for different types and levels of engagement. Membership will be voluntary, facilitating various levels and forms of cooperation and encouraging strategic partnerships.
On 10 November, the partners were exposed to an online platform developed by the host organization, the Tampere University of Applied Sciences. This was followed by a presentation by Gruppo4 on the requirements for the development of the platform. The Mediterranean Management Centre delivered a presentation on the development of the specifications needed for the platform.
The meeting was concluded with evaluation and conclusions. All partners expressed their content with the results achieved, committing to keep the project on track and work towards creating an innovative and much demanded system for employers, students and higher education institutions alike.