In the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Zaječar, on Tuesday, 13th of June, a meeting was held for representatives of the hospitality and tourism industry, where the improved and expanded educational offer of the Zaječar Economic and Trade School was presented, in accordance with the new vision of the school as an institution for lifelong learning.
The gathering that was organized was an opportunity to present the activities that the school has implemented in the last three years in order to improve the quality of teaching, both in the field of formal education and adult education, i.e. informal training. These activities were implemented within the DECIDE project. In addition to equipping the school kitchen and tourism cabinet with the most modern equipment, the school also received support for the professional training of teachers and management staff through the project. Special attention was paid to training for a group of teachers who teach in the profiles of cook, waiter and tourist technician, who through this education were able to gain insight into current trends, demand and real work processes in the modern hospitality and tourism industry. With the support of GIZ, a group of teachers also underwent training for acquiring competences for educational work with adults, developing programs and implementing informal trainings. As a result, the school has acquired the status of a publicly recognized organiser of adult education activities and will soon be able to offer 3 trainings – training for the full qualification of a chef, as well as two smaller trainings, assistant chef and chef of the national Serbian cuisine of Eastern Serbia. In addition, the school will soon be able to offer a procedure for the recognition of prior learning, which recognizes the knowledge and skills acquired through various trainings, life and work experience for interested candidates and issues them a corresponding certificate.
Also, this gathering was an opportunity to hear from local employers what their labour needs are and how they see the potential for cooperation with the school. The goal for the school is to continue in the direction of developing a diverse and flexible educational offer that can quickly and qualitatively respond to the needs of the economy, and at the same time provide young people with support for career management and enable them lifelong learning.
