- Category : Networking and partnership
- Date : October 2018 - January 2019
Purpose of the project
Creating opportunities for actors interested with sustainable development, environment and tourism, to partner with organizations according to specific calls and programs.
Short Description
InSET has been active in the field of EU and Western Balkan programs, with the aim of creating opportunities for actors interested with sustainable development, environment and tourism, to partner with organizations according to specific calls and programs.
The action of InSET consists of gathering information on organizations and actors with common interests, raising communication between actors and completing action towards partner bilateral agreement, or partner completed form and delivery to lead partner. The database of actors and stakeholders is raising and also the partnerships between the organizations are various including other NGO-s , Universities, Institutes and Municipalities or important Commercial Associations.
The networking that have been supported by InSET for EU programs are the following:
- PROGRAMME: EUROPE FOR CITIZENS: NETWORK OF TOWNS , PROJECT: Countryside Ecological Footprint Network, Albanian Partner - Municipality of Himara
- INTERREG V-B Adriatic-Ionian ADRION Programme 2014-2020 relating Lead partner, RIJEKA DEVELOPMENT AGENCY PORIN Ltd www.porin.hr, with Albanian Partner - Art, Tourism and Culture Directorate in Vlora Municipality
- PROGRAMME EUROPE FOR CITIZENS TOWN TWINNING, PROJECT: Heritage for EU growth (Twinning of VloraMuncipality with VInica Muncipality Kroatia
- Project: PLATONE - relating Croatian partner with Albanian Partner University of Gjirokastra “Eqerem Cabej"
- PROGRAMME ADRIJON, Project: SURPRISE - relating foreign partners with Muncipality of Tepelena and University of Tirana.
Situation
The Albanian coastline and mainly the South Coast is intended to be one of the most visited destinations especially by foreign tourists in the near future be. But its beauties, beaches, landscapes, and continually improving infrastructure will not suffice upon satisfying foreign tourists. A very important component is the service.
The quality of tourist services in the Albanian tourist supply sector has been identified as one of the:
- main problems of the Albanian tourism industry
- important objectives that the government intends to improve significantly through vocational education
- emergent important tasks to adapt to the requirements of the summer season 2017.
Hotels and restaurants currently have staff problems with regard to service quality, even the ones that claim the best service along the Albanian coast, especially in the Southern Albania. This is accepted by the structures’ administrators/ managers themselves and also by the heads of the local administration such as Labor Office, Vocational Training Center, local government leaders, etc. From this point of view, a vocational training (link) tour was conducted in the hottest regions of maritime tourism: Vlora, Himara, Saranda, for training the staff of some of the main hospitality structures in these region as well as some applicants awaiting seasonal employment at the labor offices, in order to improve tourist services .
What offers the project
In this situation the project “Vocational Training in Tourism” offers: Professional training for employees related to customer service at hotel-bars-restaurants, teaching them some essential elements that will improve the relocation of daily operations thus contributing to improving customer service.
- Improving the current quality of service, and better preparation for the upcoming season.
- Trained employees will be a good example for other employees in the future.
- Certified employees.
- Increased number of satisfied customers.
- Provide lower service time on desks, receptions, increase employee productivity.
- More powerful Marketing than commercials.
- Increase in incomes.
What is expected from the participating structures:
- Ensuring staff availability (3-5 people) for the sufficient time, min 3- max 5 days.
- Optional: Financial contribution for the training of staff, in the form of support with some of the operational expences for the training days.
Completed activites
- Acting as a representative coordinator, not only for Albanian but even for Western Balkan, the main duties of InSET has been:
- • Partner database creation. Based on the key terms of calls and directions of main lead partners, the main partner within Albania have been identified, in relation also to their needs and tailored requests to InSET.
- • Developing communication with and between partners, where network creation within Alabania and/or Western Balkan has been a very important output of this activity
- • Partnership completed forms where InSET work has consisted also on preparation of documents and working packages, etc, to sustain the Albanian partners which do not have the human resource capacities, but also focusing in their trainings for document development.
- • Follow up of relations and possible agreement between parties, which is the output of coordinating the process and serving as contact point for whole actors and stakeholders in country.
- • Sustaining the Lead partner in writing projects.
Short description of the training program:
Training areas for seasonal or permanent workers, applicants at the employment offices, pupils or students include:
- Technical capability on customer service, quality of touristic services, customer / tourist and its requirements
- Importance and management of tourist expectations and impact on their income and return on investment, image, employment and local development
- Reception services, hospitality and comunication of a positive message
- Bar, restaurant, and kitchen services.
- Management of tourists' requests / dissent/satisfactions / expectations / indulgences.
Project future
Networking is part of InSET activity, since it relies on the technical board, the 20 years of experience as consultants and professors in the fields of sustainable development, environment and especially tourism. Future action for developing partnerships and networking will take place in the framework of Horizon 2020, Interreg, IPA CBC, as well as other EU calls.
