S.T.A.R.T. - Sustainable and Technological Approach to Rethink Tourism

<< Background >>The twin transition is changing the ways in which tourism management and communication processes are carried out by SMEs and used by consumers, generating needs for skill adaptation that risk marginalising low-skilled wor-kers.The project was launched in this context to respond to the following critical issues:-rapid obsolescence of skills of tourism sector operators, namely travel agencies and accommodation facilities, with particular reference to women, young people and low-skilled workers who risk exclusion from the labour market due to the digital and green transition;-poor digital and green maturity in SMEs due to: financial exposure of suppliers; time lapse between revenues and costs; lack of ability to support innovation processes as no full understanding of circular strategies; poorly connected sector; episodic forms of partnerships-poor focus of training offerings on the joint development of digital and green skills-need for a rapid and profound evolution of trainers from transmitters of knowledge and skills to activators of cul-tural change processes.<< Objectives >>The project set and achieved the following objectives:1. To support the personal and professional development of female tourism workers in the partner countries, keeping their employability and retention high2. To favour accessibility over time, in view of permanent e-learning of operators, to a plurality of OER on digital and green skills3. To guide sector operators towards rethinking their business models in a circular key by exploiting new digital technologies, with guidance of green-tech infusion coaches4. To align a pool of trainers on green-tech infusion techniques and methods and transformational team coaching to conduct technology and green infusion sessions by fostering the environmental culture and digital maturity of learners to evolve the modus operandi from linear to circular and from traditional to digital5. To disseminate the learning pathway and relative support tools for digital upskilling to a wide audience of tour-ism operators in order to combine the professional growth of people and the competitive development of SMEs<< Implementation >>The following activities were implemented:WP2 - TRAINING DESIGN● Design of the START training programme● Conduction of workshops to validate the draft START training programme● Modelling of the draft START training programmeWP3 - PRODUCTION OF THE START TRAINING TOOLKIT ● Development of storyboards for content creation● Compilation of storyboards with learning content● Production of the interactive video training pills, also with narrative branches● Production of the educational TV programme episodes● Development of the Green-Tech ToolkitWP4 – PILOTING OF THE START MODEL● Planning and logistic-didactic organisation of mobility● Conduction of hybrid international mobility using EPALE● Planning and organisation of piloting in 4 EU countries● Conduction of piloting in 4 EU countries and fine-tuningWP5 - DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION● Planning of communication activities● Production of a multimedia information kit● Planning and conduction of social campaigns● Organisation of awareness-raising events● Planning of the sustainability strategy● Implementation of the sustainability strategy<< Results >>-Training programme on green and digital skills -10 interactive microlearning pills and a Metaverse, not originally foreseen-2 narrative branching scenarios, contextualised to the reality of a hotel and a travel agency-Green-Tech Infusion Toolkit, a methodological manual to conduct START LABS accompanied by the CIRCULAR TOURISM TOOL, as interactive software to guide workers in carrying out organisational analyses to rethink opera-tional practices in a circular and digital key- MULTILINGUAL START APP, NOT ORIGINALLY FORESEEN, as a tool to valorise tourism products and services real-ised by tourism SME workers during the START LABS-Educational programme, an interactive learning environment that provides access to didactic and operational tools (OER, Toolkit, App) together with interviews given by partnership representatives and sector experts, case studies and good practices.-Methodological alignment of 27 trainers in a Mobility on green-tech infusion and transformational team coach-ing-Creation and development of a network of EU trainers aligned on the methodologies developed- Undersigning of 5 MoUs to consolidate the project results