ICARUS (ROBG – 192)
Integrated Culinary Arts and Restaurant Sector Employment Solutions for a Skilled and Inclusive Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Region
What’s the goal?
To facilitate labor mobility in the restaurant/culinary business in the RO-BG cross border area through joint skill-building and employment mobility support services.
What’s the budget?
429,383.03 euro, out of which 364,975.58 euro ERDF
Who?
Lead Beneficiary (LB): Dobrudja Agro & Business School” (DABS) (Bulgaria)
Beneficiary 2 (B2): Association “Choose Your Profession” - Center for Vocational Training
(ATP) (LEASME) (Romania)
When?
Start date: 29.04.2017
End date: 28.04.2019
Duration: 24 months
Where?
Dobrich in Bulgaria
Constanta in Romania
How?
- VET training programs fine-tuned to the needs of CB business
- Methods and tests for assessing potential employees’ personal skills
- Pilot vocational training with CB mobility for 120 persons
- Pilot assessment of the personal skills of 150 persons
- Continuous VET and lifelong learning pathways
- ·A sustainable RO-BG Cross Border Center for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business - a support structure linking education providers, job seekers and business, and providing possibilities for personalized advisory services and counseling for mobile workers and CB employers.
Results (what’s the contribution to the Programme)?
Programme outputs: 3 initiatives that activate workforce mobility in the cross border area; 470 participants in joint local employment initiatives and joint trainings; 200 participants in joint educational and training schemes to support youth employment, educational opportunities and higher and vocational education across borders.
Programme results: 7380 persons having access to joint employment initiatives.
Project status
The project was finalized in April 2019.
This project aimed at creating preconditions for CB labour mobility in the target sector by developing integrated tools: training and assessment programs and methods; continuous VET, lifelong learning and professional development pathways; support structures linking education providers, job seekers and business and providing possibilities for personalized advisory services and counselling for mobile workers and CB employers. The tools are aimed at facilitating the transferability of employees’ professional and personal skills to business conditions at the other side of the border and decreasing the uncertainties (for both employees and employers) about the consequences of CB employment.
The following project activities were implemented:
The needs for support of training, employment and employment mobility of potential employees and employers in the culinary and restaurant sector in the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region – professional skills were researched and analyzed.
An Integrated Training and Employment Mobility Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area was developed and implemented, comprising:
- Integrated VET curricula with CB relevance and prior learning validation pathways (continuous VET), for 4 key professions: 1) cook; 2) baker/pastry-maker, 3) restauranteur, 4) waiter/bartender;
- Soft Skills Assessment Model;
- a training program for labour mobility preparedness and support in the RO-BG cross border area, based on 5 courses 1) Labour and citizenship rights, incl. labour legislation in Romania and Bulgaria, 2) Cultural awareness, history and culinary traditions in the CB region, 3) Guest relations and profiles, 4) Digital skills for job seekers, 5) Presentation skills for job seekers.
Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Centre for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business was set-up with 2 contact points in Dobrich and Constanta and accordingly equipped with own VET training facilities.
A 2-day Capacity-Building and Training Workshop for 40 RO and BG teachers and VET trainers for culinary/restaurant business professions was hosted by RO-BG CB Centre for the Facilitation of Labour Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business in Dobrich.
Quick Guides focused were developed on the main issues affecting CB labour mobility, namely Employment and Citizenship Rights and Regulations in the RO-BG Cross Border Area, How to Find Mobile Employees in the RO-BG Cross Border Area, as well as Training for Mobile Employees in the RO-BG Cross Border Area
All products of the project can be accessed at http://icarus-robg.eu/.
