Abstract:

The tourism sector is a leading socio-economical driver in most European countries, thanks to its relevant weight on the nationals gross income, to its potential impact on many strategic social drivers (inclusiveness, cultural heritage and cross fertilization, sustainability, and so on), to its indirect impacts on the local development and to the other economic sectors. This is confirmed by the fact that in the new EU strategic and programmatic framework tourism is considered a “no-sector”, in order to valorize it in a multidimensional, multilevel and cross-sector approach.

The need of achieving higher degree of the job market efficiency and effectiveness for this sector is, then, strategic due to its social economical relevance on one side and on the very wide, flexible and changing competence need emerging from the tourism sector (direct and indirect) segments on the other side. Its relevance is also confirmed by the activation of a dedicated hospitality-sector section in EURES, the EU Job Mobility Portal, with a threefold aim: allowing employers to assess the skills and experiences of job candidates; support the job supply & demand matching in the hotel and restaurant sector (also enhancing mobility); valorisation of some emerging job market segments (and economical sub-sector such us adventure, blue, and cultural tourism segments) and of the skill needs related to an improved accessibility of tourism services.

Matching “tourism competences” demand and supply and, then, dynamically aligning job market needs and VET offer represent a strategic employment and economic challenge addressed, both at EU and national levels, by institutional programs and initiative (such us the definition of a EU based structured model of tourism skills/competences within the ESCO frame) as well as by many research, and experimental, projects.
Within this frame and research stream, the project SMART aims at addressing these challenges with special refer to the competence dynamic alignment of the Tourism Industry (Hospitality, Catering and Travels) in Andalusia Region. The overall objective of the SMART system is to provide a methodology and a tool to harmonize the VET offer with the demand of the Labour market in a timely, effective and localized manner. By employing a multiactor curricula definition approach and an ontology-based adaptive tool the project aims at: supporting competences, knowledge and skills required identification and the consequent adaptation of the learning outcomes in the Educational regional system; boosting the employability dimension by improving the forecasts on new emerging jobs and competences needs and promoting competences transparency and mobility; stimulating a more organic industry-education-institution governance model, based on a trust and knowledge based multi-actor cooperation frame. More specifically the SMART system articulate knowledge, skills and capacities as learning outcomes and provide periodic reviews on the compliance of VET providers and educational institutions curricula (in terms of competencies acquired) with the real labour market needs (in terms of competencies required).

After giving a short overview of the relevant challenges and evidences on skill matching, both at national and EU level, the paper will describe the main goals, finding and results of the SMART model and system carried on in the Andalusian tourism sector.

Keywords:

Project outcomes and conclusions, University/Industry experiences, New Experiences for Curriculum, Skill needs of Labour.