Building the Future of Skills in the Tourism Sector – A European Approach to Micro credentials

On December 12, 2024, a hybrid conference titled “Building the Future of Skills in the Tourism Sector: A European Approach to Micro-Credentials.” was conducted, as part of the “MICROIDEA – MICRO-credentials: Identifying, DEveloping, testing and Assessing innovative approaches” project.

Key speakers of the conference were:

• Anastasia Pouliou, CEDEFOP
• Annita Demetriadou, Director of Tourism, Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus
• Christiana Iacovidou, General Manager of the Cleopatra Hotel in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The conference also included a Round Table  “Aligning Microcredentials for the Tourism Sector” with the following participants:

• Sandor Karacsony, Senior Economist and World Bank Expert
• Vicent Pastor, officer of the General Directorate for VET of the Regional Ministry of Catalonia
• Dr Wojciech Stęchły, expert at the Educational Research Institute in Warsaw (IBE) and assistant proffesor at Warsaw School of Economics
• Xavier Mudarra Pizarro, Technical Teaching Advisor in VET Internationalisation at the Directorate general of Vocational Training of the Generalitat de Cetalunya
• Mr Yannis Tschilis, Corporate Affairs Director of Grecotel Hotels and Resorts – N. Daskalantonakis Group Greece
• Kari Peistikou, Head of Learning and Development, Institute of Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE)

During the conference, the participants agreed on the importance of incorporating the use of microcredentials in skills development and employability policies in the tourism sector and on the need to adapt to common methodologies to ensure that microcredentials meet both educational needs and industry-specific standards.

You can watch the conference here.