Concrete experience: Pestalozzi Foundation – Training package for social-touristic operators
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Pestalozzi Foundation operates since 1994, supporting people in need in their effort to acquire those skills to facilitate their way to an independent and responsible life within the community. Pestalozzi Foundation develops programs on two strategic coordinates (1) training in social work, social pedagogy and community development and (2) direct intervention by applying the principles of social pedagogy in working with people in difficulty (children, youth, adults) and local stakeholders (authorities, members of the business community, social and educational services, NGOs, etc.). Pestalozzi Foundation is a member of FESET (European Association of Training Centres for Socio-Educational Work), the FONPC (NGOs Federation for Children) and RENASIS (National Anti Poverty Network - Social Inclusion).
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The basic principle of Pestalozzi Foundation work is that investing in people means investing in community welfare and hence any community that encourages and supports the development of human potential makes a safe investment for the future. By default, education is the safest investment that a community can create prerequisites discovery, development and use of individual potential, both for their own benefit and that of the community.
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Fundatia Pestalozzi is a vocational centre involved in training programs for people working in the social field providing training, consulting, and community development to facilitate access to education and promoting gender equality and for people in disadvantaged conditions from economic, social and /or educational point of view.
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Training prerequisites: The target group specific; Identifying training needs; The training schedule; The objectives for each training unit in cognitive, action and behaviour changes fields; The training material; The methods for the training (role plays, handouts, exercises, simulations) to reach the objectives.
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Training Needs Assessment: At the beginning, the participants showed interest mainly for the cognitive part, stating that they want to find out "new things", "and "new methods to further develop their business". In general, they did not expect the soft skills part development, which was highly appreciated at the end of the course by the participants. The name of the course itself was modified to make it more appealing for the participants "The Social Tourism, new ways of covering the off season"
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The main motivations of the participant stated in the SelfAssessment grid: entrepreneurial motivation (to develop new perspectives for their business) cognitive motivation (to find out new things) social motivation (socialising, finding out what is new in the field, what colleagues do or intend lately, exchanges) to improve skills to become more competitive on the market developing accessibility to the touristic packages for the disadvantaged groups to find ways to make social tourism profitable
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Approaches: soft skills, social work, disadvantaged groups; management and social enterprises; marketing and tourism;
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Learning objectives: cognitive level – acquaintance with the concept of social tourism (what it is, its functions and forms): action level – elaborating a business plan for a social touristic company attitude (personality level) – raising awareness and sensitisation on social diversity and the needs of different disadvantaged groups form touristic point of view.
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Methodology: Focus on participants level on understanding of duties, responsibilities and resources to successfully achieve their goals and be able to answer a number of questions that arise in their daily work. The main resources in implementation of every training course is the amount of experience, development potential and motivation of participants in courses. Emphasis was placed on involvement and participation, reflected action, capitalizing on previous experience and personal development.
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Target group: People already working in the touristic field in a region with seasonal tourism that needed new ideas for the offseason and how new services can be created. Members of ANTRREC, The National Association for the Rural, Ecological and Cultural Tourism, Buzau county branch. The main objective: to develop a common language, a common understanding of the concept of social tourism and to make possible a further development of a strategy in social tourism in the region. Structure: representatives of private enterprises, tourist operators and entrepreneurs
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Content: Perfectly compatible with a training programme in tourism accredited by the Romanian Authority for Qualification so that it was well received by the participants. Duration: 13 days for the theoretical part and 7 days for the project work, a total of 100 hours of training.
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Module 1: Strategic Business Design of a Tourism Enterprise notions, functionalities and activities of a touristic company touristic market competition strategy development on tourism sector business plan design business plan implementation social enterprises (work frame, legal frame etc.) .
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Module 2: Managing a Social Tourism Enterprise E-tourism characteristics and impacts national market on e-tourism skills and job profiles for social tourism target groups for social tourism communication of social tourism initiatives by social media tools synergies and partnership among agents involved on social tourism development
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Project works:The participants that worked in the same unit were encouraged to make a common project work, to refer to the same reality and needs for development. Among the themes chosen for the projects were: Touristic package for the young atlhetes; Sight-seeing package for the disabled people; E-marketing for "holiday in the country" package; Transforming a B&B unit for receiving groups of children and youth business plan for opening a balneary home for senior citizens Marketing plan for attracting funds into the development of social tourism in the county of buzau; How to develop a social tourism service in a big touristic company; opening for diversity in social touristic services; Business plan for opening a social enterprise in the touristic sector ; New activities and touristic packages for disadvantaged gropus.
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Final evaluation: At the end of the training, the group mentioned that their expectations were fulfilled, fact that was illustrated by the evaluation forms and final discussion The group realised that they were already involved in some aspects of the Social tourism (the place chosen for the training, Sarata Monteoru, being a well-known balneary resort in Romania), but they didn't realised how much else is comprised in this notion and how many disadvantaged groups exist, from touristic point of view. All the participants considered advisable the replication of the course, with focus on the social aspects and soft skills development for all staff involved in the touristic sector.
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Contents
Synergies
New perspectives Divergent opinion
Common perspective
Necessary skills
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CONTENTS: Too extensive in some respects. Some of the contents were already known by the participants and they didn't consider necessary to insist on them, other were completely new. The suggestion of the trainers: to change the number of hours allocated to each subject depending of the target-group.
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SYNERGIES: The participants realised the synergies between the concept of social tourism) or, better, socialising tourism) and the opportunities their region offers. Also, being all part of a professional association, this was the first opportunity to participate, all of the members of the association in a project that aims at developing a shared perspective on social tourism
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NEW PERSPECTIVES: Every participant left with some new ideas, if not as strategies, at least on the level of new activities and new packages to be developed in his/her business.
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DIVERGENT OPINION The trainees realised that, sometimes, the interest of the person offering tourism differs from the consumer's interest. They stated that they never realised that, in some perspectives, they did not follow the interest of the client but the interest of the business.
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COMMON PERSPECTIVE The trainees indicated that it would be interesting that everybody working in the touristic sector fulfils a training course on social issues and how can they be addressed through tourism, in order to have a better perspective on clients' needs.
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NECESSARY SKILLS Listening, comprehension and collaboration were the three most stated skills by the participants. As well, they realised that, in training, the part of "Communication skills" is focused on selling and persuading skills, not on listening to the other's needs and collaboration (trying to comply)
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Lessons learned Raising awareness on the potential of social tourism in a region with a history of isolated social touristic initiatives. People realised that they can create a network for the promotion of the social tourism, taking in account that the region has a dramatic landscape that could be exploited in winter as well. Never underestimate the potential of people and places. Sometimes is necessary only a little impulse coming from outside to wake the dormant energy.
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