Kaizenlog

NO. 1378

EU FUNDS FOR THE TRAINING OF WORKERS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority in 2005 launched the HOTSME Leonardo Project over a 30 month period.

The aim of this project is to address the needs of hotels in the European Union, with a special reference to smaller accommodation establishments where there is lack of training opportunities. This project provides managers and other employees of small and medium hotels the opportunity for continuous professional development through workplace learning. This project is co-financed by the European Commission to a maximum amount of €439,086.

This project is also of particular interest because the MHRA and the MTA are leading a project team made up of similar entities across five other EU member states: Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain.

“Tourism is all about the level of satisfaction a tourist gets when he visits a country. To reach this level, all those that come in contact with the tourist must have the necessary training so that the tourist gets the best service and feels at home during his stay.”

This was stated by the Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech when he delivered the closing address of the MHRA – MTA HOTSME Project at an international conference.

Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that during the past years the Government together with MTA and other stakeholders, foremost amongst them the MHRA, invested in product Malta. He said that a number of hotels in the Five and Four Star categories were built, promenades were embellished, new beaches were built, restoration and rehabilitation projects were realised, roundabouts and centre strips in Malta and Gozo were turned into a permanent garden.

The Minister for Tourism and Culture said that all these projects will not be worth anything unless the tourist is not well treated and is given the service he aspires for. “In the past years the Institute for Tourism Studies was opened. Every year the ITS trains hundreds of young people in the tourism sector. A good percentage of these youths are sent abroad to proceed with their studies. Other young people proceeded with their studies at the University of Malta and the MCAST from where they graduate. All these courses are contributing towards a trained workforce in the tourism sector in our country,” said Minister Zammit Dimech. He added that the HOTSME Leonardo project made good for a lack of training which was being felt by small and medium size hotels where the employees did not have the necessary opportunities.

Minister Zammit Dimech said that the MHRA contribution towards the realisation of this project shows not only the association’s commitment towards the tourism sector but also the cooperation that exists between the Ministry for Tourism an Culture the MTA and MHRA. Minister Zammit Dimech said that that as Minister for Tourism and Culture he meets regularly officials from the MHRA to discuss problems within the tourism sector.

Minister Zammit Dimech pointed out that he welcomed the close collaboration that he had built over the past years with MHRA since the stakeholders working closely together does not only serve the tourism industry well but through it also the national economy. He looked forward to working on other new initiatives with MHRA for the benefit of tourism in its own right and the overall economy.

The Minister for Tourism and Culture applauded the Industry Human Resources Development Unit within the MTA. He said that this unit, managed with so much commitment by Joe Tanti, is contributing towards the training of employees in such an important sector as tourism, which is one of the three pillars on which our economy is built. Minister Zammit Dimech said that through the hard work of all those who contributed towards the realisation of this project, the HOTSME project was nominated as one of the 50 success stories for the Leonardo da Vinci Community programme.

DOI – 14.09.2007

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