advancing hygiene and CLEANing training for HORECA SMEs Erasmus Project

Project Title

advancing hygiene and CLEANing training for HORECA SMEs

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

CONTEXT
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE HORECA SECTOR

HORECA it is a dynamic sector and represents a formidable generator for the European economy in terms of output, employment and development. Besides, it represent a particular class of commercial properties where hygiene and cleanliness are pertinent far more than any other business industry. Despite the high importance of hygiene and cleanliness, a great percent of micro and small businesses in the field struggle to maintain the relevant hygiene requirements and are still characterized by unsophisticated methods and approaches, which do not take into account the power of training due to poor awareness of the relevant legislation related to hygiene, sanitary and cleaning standards due to the lack of appropriate skills and expertise of personnel and the lack of skilled supervisors and managers. Therefore, the HORECA sector is facing a crucial challenge in regards to the hygiene & cleaning services provision: how to make human resources from marginalized workers to a real asset for the development of an innovative and sustainable HORECA industry.

OBJECTIVES
The project aims at advancing micro and small HORECA industry in the provision of hygiene and cleaning services, through the development of the Hygiene & Cleaning Manager (HCM) profile, a professional capable of scheduling, implementing, and monitoring the property’s and products hygiene, safety and cleaning efforts and safeguarding hygiene and public health. In order to achieve its goals the project will develop a training path and related tools aiming to equip employees in the micro HORECA cleaning sector with the right skills to ensure compliance to the respective regulations (EU & national), guarantee public health and safety, provision of high quality services, maximizing thus its revenue and reputation. Besides, the project will help the socially disadvantaged to advance their skills leading to more growth and more jobs in the tourism sector which provides work opportunities for them.

PARTICIPANTS
The partnership comprises 6 partners from 6 countries covering software experts with profound experience in the development of ICT tools to help a new work-based training experience to VET, VET organisations, associations and NGOs which are experts in the cleaning domain of the HORECA sector with vast dissemination potential in the field and is expected to achieve a significant impact promoting the training programs and tools based on the “learning outcomes” approach.

ACTIVITIES
The partnership will design, develop, test, implement and disseminate an innovative training program facilitated by two tools, the Hygiene & Cleaning Strategies Tool and the HyperCLEAN Game.
The development of the training program will be based on the adoption of a user-centred approach. The assessment of the training program will include extended cycles of training activities and work place centred work including skills retention. Trainers will continuously give feedback to the project team about their experiences gained at the workplace. This not only will increase the motivation of the trainers, and give weight to their practical experiences, but will also provide the necessary cross-links between theory and practice. Upon suggestions of the trainers, the project team will perform the necessary adjustments to the training approach.

METHODOLOGY
– Make a comparative analysis of the current state of play of cleaning practices, and awareness of the health, safety, and cleaning standards related to the HORECA industry in partner countries and identify winning practices (best practices adopted from countries topping in HORECA best cleaning services charts).
– Validate the needs of micro HORECA from partner countries in relation to knowledge and skills for implementing the winning practices.
– Elaborate a training methodology and a set of winning strategies for micro HORECA to improve current approach.
– Devise the list of goals to be implemented for materialising each strategy.
– Describe each concrete goals per concept to be supported
– Design and develop the HCM Training course
– Design and develop the HCM Training course to support the implementation of the actions.
– Localise the strategies, goals and content (translations and any adaptations to strategies, actions and content)
– Implement the ECVET tools.
– Design the “Facilitating Tool” to personalise the strategies at the level of individual business
– Deploy, set-up and configure a Learning Motivation Environment to provide access to the training course
– Re-purpose and integrate the content as interactive multimedia resources for skills retention.
– Train a number of appointed instructors/trainers to the methodology, course and delivery tools.
– Organise pilots.
– Process results.

RESULTS
– Hygiene & Cleaning Manager Training Content
– ECVET supporting tools
– Hygiene & Cleaning Strategies Facilitating Tool
– HyperCLEAN Game
– HYperCLEAN4HORECA Club

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 259641 Eur

Project Coordinator

CIVIC COMPUTING LIMITED & Country: UK

Project Partners

• OÜ Puhastusekspert
• CREATIVE THINKING DEVELOPMENT
• Asociación Valencia Inno Hub
• Asociatia Institutul pentru Parteneriat Social Bucovina
• CCS DIGITAL EDUCATION LIMITED