At these times when the revitalization of the hospitality and tourism sector is in sight, the most innovative and specialized training of its professionals is essential. There are many changes and developments that have appeared in recent times, prior to the pandemic and during it. Knowing them and incorporating them into establishments will be necessary from now on and only the most qualified professionals will be able to achieve it.
This is precisely the objective that many young people have in mind who enroll in the Dual Medium Degree in Restaurant Services at the Institut Escola d’Hoteleria i Turisme de Barcelona, ??which this year presents its second edition. The training itinerary is part of the social employment training program We Create Opportunities in Hospitality and Tourism, of the Mahou San Miguel Foundation.
During the next two years, students will receive the most complete and current training necessary to develop their professional future in this field, combining the theoretical part, in the educational center, with 1,000 hours of real practices in Mahou San collaborating establishments. Miguel in Barcelona. Thanks to this type of teaching, participants will learn first-hand about the current and future needs of the sector, which will allow them to finish their studies with a high level of knowledge and will facilitate their entry into the labor market.
In this second year, the Barcelona school welcomes 25 new students in the first year, and 13 who started last year, and interest in Dual FP is consolidated year after year. For this reason, the Mahou San Miguel Foundation program offers a clear opportunity for growth both to the centers with which it collaborates and to the young people who opt for this type of training. According to Virginia Luca de Tena, director of the Mahou San Miguel Foundation, “for eight years we have been committed to the Dual Vocational Training modality as an engine that drives youth employment and the professionalization of the hospitality sector.
In fact, the Creamos Oportunidades program has trained a total of more than 880 young people, 90 of them in Barcelona, ??and achieved an average job placement rate of 85%.”
One of the challenges pursued by the Foundation is to provide a higher level of training programs, offering higher, top-quality and more specialized education, providing the latest national and international trends in hospitality, tourism and restaurants. All of this fits perfectly with FP.
“With Creamos Oportunidades we want to contribute to the excellence of talented young people who want to guide their professional future in the hospitality industry. Thanks to the collaboration with the INS EHTB, we can offer students a more complete and innovative training, to turn them into the highly qualified professional that is needed today, always willing to offer the best of themselves,” says the director. .
Furthermore, he continues, “in all these years we have seen how young people are excited from the first moment they begin their learning and this is reflected in the high rates of graduates who complete their training, as well as job placement achieved.”
Throughout these two years, and again in person, the students of the INS EHTB will receive the most exclusive and innovative training in Restaurant Services, combining the official teaching required by the Intermediate Degree with complementary training that is expanded with additional learning from Creamos Oportunidades.
Among them, masterclasses stand out on specific topics such as Beer Culture, which covers both the production and styles of beer, as well as drafting, pairing and cocktails with this drink, as well as visits to the Mahou San Miguel factory in Lleida. It also includes sessions on transversal skills through communication workshops, personal branding and development, emotion management or languages, among others.
The students have personalized monitoring and individualized tutoring from both the teachers and the Exit Foundation, an entity that collaborates in the program and accompanies them throughout the training. All of this is combined with a practical part, which is carried out in prestigious hospitality establishments in Barcelona, ??such as Cèntric Gastro, Grupo Iguana, Fismuler and New York Burger.
Ana Vernet, director of the Institut Escola d’Hoteleria i Turisme de Barcelona, ??explains how the collaboration with the Mahou San Miguel Foundation’s We Create Opportunities program began: “Two years ago we were presented with this program and as a hospitality institute we saw a great opportunity to train young people who come from difficult backgrounds and provide them with training that opens a door to the world of work. Our experience in other similar programs made us confident that this new challenge would also be an opportunity to grow as a school.”
Regarding the profile of young people who opt for this itinerary, it details that they generally come from ESO and their age is around 16 years, so they understand that training is basic to get their first job. They also know, according to the director, that to obtain a quality job they must have good training in the chosen profession, in this case, the Dual Medium Degree in Restoration Services.
Furthermore, they are aware that the services sector is one of the main economic drivers and that competition is high, so their added value comes from this training. But the didactic work goes much further, as Vernet points out, since they train students to acquire the different skills and competencies that will make them the best professionals.
For this reason, in addition to the different activities in the sector, they are trained in other subjects such as teamwork, the development of skills to resolve conflicts and the ability to perform multiple tasks in a fast and changing environment; Above all, speed in decision-making is promoted.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Mahou San Miguel Foundation program, Vernet continues, certain aspects of its programs have been expanded to contribute to the training of the best professionals in the sector.
The agreement also translates into a benefit for the students, because they have the possibility of doing internships in the program’s collaborating establishments, and from the first moment they experience the reality of the sector in situ. Furthermore, the director details, “for many of them it is a great personal experience and an opportunity to begin to develop professionally.”