Embedding Sustainability Skills in Tourism Education and Training

CONTEXTSustainable tourism represents one of the megatrends of the tourism development worldwide (OECD, 2018). Growing demand for sustainable tourism products and services increases demand for green skills in the workforce. Among these skills are resource, emissions and waste management, design of tourism value chains in line with the principles of circular economy, preservation of natural, cultural and local heritage, development of sustainable and accessible tourism products (NTG, 2019). These skills, however, are yet to be mainstreamed in tourism VET. The analysis of educational standards and core curricula in the fields of Hospitality, Travel, Tourism and Leisure, implemented in all countries of the consortium, proves that sustainability-related skills are often neglected. The interviews with VET teachers in the tourism field (61 participants from 6 EU countries) shows that they lack methodological guidance, educational resources and tools for including these skills in the curricula.OBJECTIVESThe ESTET project seeks to bridge this gap and sets the overall objective to empower VET providers across Europe to align tourism education and training with new tourism industry development trends by embedding sustainability skills in curricula delivered through innovative teaching practices.The specific objectives are to:1. Develop a conceptual basis for embedding sustainability skills in tourism VET curricula2. Provide teaching-learning materials in the field of sustainable tourism adapted for embedding them effectively in VET curricula3. Design and pilot a comprehensive in-service training programme for VET staff in the cross field of sustainable tourism and innovative teaching practices4. Facilitate transferability and wide exploitation of the developed resources in various VET contexts5. Raise awareness of possibilities and added value of embedding sustainability skills in tourism VET curricula among educational professionals in the sectorTARGET GROUPS The project’s primary target groups are senior leaders, teachers, trainers and tutors in IVET & CVET institutions offering tourism qualifications at upper- and post-secondary non-tertiary levels, as well as non-formal training programmes and courses in the field of tourism; VET students, trainees and non-formal learners in the field of tourism, incl. employees and aspiring entrepreneurs.The secondary target groups are employers in the tourism sector (private companies, destination management bodies, tourism NGOs); education and training stakeholders (VET public bodies, institutions offering in-service training for teachers and universities).METHODOLOGY AND OUTPUTSThe project utilises life-cycle methodology, which defines a sequence of activities for planning, development, implementation and dissemination of the project results.During the project lifetime the following intellectual outputs will be developed:O1 Conceptual Framework defining sustainability skills at core and advanced levels of mastery and ways of embedding them in tourism VET curricula O2 Portfolio of learning resources for tourism sustainability skills development, including micro-learning videos, WebQuests and ideas for service-learning projectsO3 In-service training programme for VET teachers, trainers and tutors, addressing professional and pedagogical skills (awareness of sustainable tourism and skills for constructing educational process based on such approaches as single-concept learning, inquiry-based learning and service-learning)O4 Compendium of Success Stories, providing evidence of the impact the ESTET approach and results have had on the participants in the project’s training activities PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND PARTICIPANTS450 representatives of the project target groups and stakeholders will be directly involved in the project activities and events:- focus group interviews (min 72 VET and tourism stakeholders)- transnational train the trainer workshop (19 VET staff members of the partner organisations)- multiplication training sessions in partners’ countries (min 48 teachers, trainers and tutors from IVET and CVET institutions offering tourism programmes and courses)- field try-outs with VET learners in partners’ countries (min 90 students/learners in the field of tourism)- implementation of service-learning projects in cooperation with min 6 community partners - tourism stakeholder organisations- seven multiplier events with min 215 participantsIn addition, the consortium plans to reach at least 5000 tourism VET stakeholders through targeted and broad dissemination of the project results.IMPACTWe hope that by educating VET professionals about tourism sustainability and providing them with hands on approaches and tools for including the sustainability-related skills in curricula as an important outcome of tourism VET, our project will drive the process of behavioural change among future tourism professionals for a more sustainable tourism in Europe.