Projects / Programmes
Identification of competencies of employees needed for a long term competitive advantage of Slovenian tourism and prepositions for curriculum updates in tourism educationAcronym: TUR-COM
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.04.03 |
Social sciences |
Administrative and organisational sciences |
Management |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S189 |
Social sciences |
Organizational science |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.06 |
Social Sciences |
Political science |
Competencies, education, development, future, tourism, Slovenia
Researchers (9)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
Background:
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industrial sectors in the world, representing 10 % of world's gross domestic product, as noted by UNWTO (2017). Each 10th inhabitant of Earth is occupied in the sector, related to tourism industry. In Slovenia, we recorded more than 4,3 million tourist arrivals with 11,1 million nights spent (STO, 2017). The share of export in Slovenia related to total exports with 8,1 % exceeds world’s average. The same holds true for GDP, as it is at 12,6 % in Slovenia. These numbers reflect also in the share of employees in tourism-related sector, totaling to 12,9 %.
Despite diverse and numerous educational programs in tourism area in all level in Slovenia we still have a low average level of education in the tourism sector. Based on Slovenian Statistical Office, the share of active population with primary school education or less totals to 9,77%, those with secondary education is 56,83 %, and those with college or higher education is 33,4. But, in NACE category “I Hospitality”, the share of employees with primary education is 12,69 %, with secondary education 73,67 % and with tertiary 13,65 %. It is thus clear that in tourism/hospitality sector the number of active employees with lower education exceeds the national average.
The occupations in tourism sectors are changing in the time. Baun (2015) has noted that the changes in tourism have led to enormous changes on the level of work requirements. Nowadays the employees in the tourism related sectors need several knowledge and competences in the areas of marketing, social networks, cultural differences, foreign languages, use of modern technologies and environmental awareness.
Praprotnik Gomzi (200) has identified the following skills as important for contemporary Slovenian tourism sector: information technologies, ability to establish and manage new passenger routes (with example of low-cost flights) and capability of fast adaptation to and recognition of changes. These skills belong to occupational knowledge and in the history of development of tourism education they represent economically focused base, on which other scientific fields have built upon to create a scientific field of tourism as we know it today (Airey, 2008).
Objective:
The objective of the proposed research is to identify, with the help of tourism sector, the competencies needed by employees in tourism sector, with additional focus on dynamics of change and identification of future competencies which will gain importance in time, and will serve as a base for successful and competitive Slovenian tourism industry in line with contemporary trends. At the same time the objective is to conduct an analysis of the state of the art in the educational vertical of tourism occupations in Slovenia, and to analyze a gap between the current state and the expected state. These analyses will serve as a basis for the recommendation for changes in educational system along the whole vertical line.
Methods:
The first step is to set the basis point with regards to the occupations of interest in the proposed research. For this task we will check the structure of occupations to be found in tourism sector and are defined by standard classification of Slovenian Statistical Office. In this phase the occupations will be identified and listed. The methodology in this phase will be collection of secondary data.
The second step is to analyze the existing educational programs. With this analysis we will find out what are the contents of the educational programs in tourism and hospitality along the educational vertical. We will identify educational outcomes for individual occupations and compare them between various programs of different institutions at the same levels. Additionally, the competencies for individual occupations in tourism and hospitality will be identified.
An analysis of the needs of tourism and hospitality sector in the area of personnel is the third
Significance for science
The guidelines for sustainable development, which have been for some time now in the foreground in the European context and in the context of Slovenia’s development, are a good basis for understanding the importance of proposed project for development of science and the profession. In the context of tourism development as an independent scientific discipline, the field of tourism still creates polarization among different groups in the wider scientific and professional public, on one hand there are those who advocate tourism as an independent scientific discipline and others that deny its independence of this same discipline. By implementing the proposed project, we will confirm not only that tourism is an important industry, both in the world and in the Republic of Slovenia, but also an important scientific discipline. In the Republic of Slovenia, a survey entitled "A Modern Human Resource Management Model for the Tourism Industry" was conducted, in which the authors carried out the analysis of situation in the education system, but this was an analysis of the opinions of stakeholders in the educational process. The contribution of the proposed research is the development of systematic identification of needs, analysis of the gap and synthesis of new competences for the future. With the help of this research, we will answer the questions: RQ1: What are the competency needs now? RQ2: What future competencies will be needed? RQ3: Is there a gap between expected and actual competencies? RQ4: If a gap exists, which activities lead to reduction in the gap. An analysis of existing education programs will provide new information on the sources from which tourism is drawn up as an independent scientific discipline and enable the tracking of the development of tourism studies in Slovenia. The results will help to understand modern trends in the development of science in the field of tourism, which further consolidates the development of science in this field, while also providing additional knowledge to a wide range of professional fields that deal with specific content in catering and tourism. The contribution to the development of science and the profession is certainly also visible in the context of a better knowledge of the competences needed for the future development of hospitality, as this will help us define the professions of the future in the hospitality industry, which will be achieved by carrying out the proposed project. In the field of education, we can also see additional positive effects, since by carrying out the proposed project, we will have the opportunity to improve the comparability of existing educational programs, to develop new educational programs that will again provide additional leverage for the development of science through defined new competences in tourism of the future.
Significance for the country
Tourism as an industry is on the rise both on a global scale and in the Republic of Slovenia. Research projects that are directly aimed at such industries definitely bear the added value for the economy. Viewed from the perspective of hospitality, the proposed project will bring about positive changes, as the stakeholders will have the opportunity to propose direct changes to educational programs, making them more tailored to the needs of the economy. Based on the results of this project, it will be easier for the companies to identify and implement special-purpose training in the framework of the "Competence Center for Sustainable Tourism", that is a part of Sava Turizem d.d. The results of this project will ensure that there will be no duplication of education and on the one hand, by the (mainly) public sector (educational institutions), and, on the other hand, by the companies, which also carry out its own training activities. The results of the project will enable a narrower specialization of the trainings offered, for which it is reasonable to be carried out by the industry, and the transfer of those skills into the educational vertical, for which it makes sense to be broad and cover a wide range of needs in hospitality professions.
With these changes, we can reasonably expect that certain professions in the hospitality industry and tourism will become more desired, as they will be able to provide services at a higher quality level with the knowledge that will be available already in the educational process, since they will have better quality education, which can consequently also result in an increase in added value in hotels and restaurants in general. The results of the project also offer to the companies the possibility of introducing additional trainings for employees, where the programs will be adapted to the needs of the companies. In the context of this, it can be said that the research project will indirectly influence the possibility of a long-term sustainable development of individual careers within the catering and tourism industry, where so far, especially in the hospitality industry, it is considered that the number such careers is relatively low and where we often encounter a precarious work.
Most important scientific results
Final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2018,
final report
