Studens Working Abroad Project 2
Start date: Sep 1, 2014,
End date: Aug 31, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
The SWAP 2 project (Students working about Project) has been developed in the context of vocational training in hospitality within the Escuela de Hostelería de Guayente. The Guayente Association, head of the catering school, is a non-profit association created to enhance the social, economic and cultural development of the Benasque Valley located in a disadvantaged environment such as the Aragonese Pyrenees.
The Valley of Benasque’s economy is based on tourism and over the past years it has developed an important offer of hotels and restaurants. One of the objectives of the Escuela de Hostelería de Guayente is to provide qualified workforce to this sector which is key in the development of our environment.
The isolation of the Benasque Valley where the school is located encourages us to develop European projects that enable our students to get to know the work reality in other countries and to develop the feeling of belonging to a European context.
At the beginning of this project, the following objectives were set:
1. Develop the language skills to ask for and give information, talk and interact with others.
2. Value cultural diversity as a source of personal enrichment recognizing other practices, ideas or beliefs to solve problems and make decisions.
3. Get to know the professional skills required in foreign companies and to develop the acquired in the school’s practical workshops.
4. Compare the vocational training in the different European countries.
5. Make students aware that European mobility is essential in order to improve employability.
6. In general, improve our students’ employability.
A total of eight students have participated in the SWAP 2 project, two of them with scholarship (five boys and three girls).
Five students have carried out the FCT (Work Centre Training) of CFGM of Kitchen and three of CFGM of Services.
Four students have carried out theirs in hotel chains in Ingolstad (Germany) and four others in La Roche Sur Yon (France).
These students have done full Work Centre Training (FCT) in catering companies, developing the training programme which corresponds to their respective cycles programming.
In order to do this, an agreement between the Escuela de Hostelería Guayente and the respective companies was signed according to the established protocol by the Department of Education of the Government of Aragón.
Once the selection process finished, a previous preparation was carried out to improve the students’ language skills. This preparation was based on the knowledge of the hotels’ gastronomic offer which increased the students’ degree of motivation.
It focused on students preparing their trip and a visit abroad at the end of the practices took place to assess the development of these on-site.
The evaluation of most of the students who have participated has been very positive because:
1. They have improved their language skills and their communication and integration skills in a team.
2. They have seen the way of functioning (schedules, salaries, organizational structure, etc.) in an unknown work context so far for them.
They have known and are able to identify the raw materials of the country according to quality parameters as well as their culinary heritage.
3. At the beginning of the project one of our main objectives was for students to learn to appreciate the cultural diversity as a source of personal enrichment. We believe that this goal has been met only too well as those who went to Germany had the opportunity to meet in first person, through football, a situation as current as that of the Syrian refugees.
4. To the four students who went to Germany and to two students who went to France, the companies abroad where the students carried out their work experience offered them job contracts.
At this moment, these students are assessing the possibility of accepting such an offer since they have completed their training.
5. For the Centre this impact is important because offering European projects provides quality and is appealing to the families of students who are already pursuing their training with us and for those thinking of studying with us.
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