SKILLS4CMT – Sector-specific skills development in Coastal and Maritime Tourism
Coastal and maritime tourism (CMT), as the largest maritime activity in the European Union, is of major importance in European economy as the competitiveness of the sector is a driver for sustainable growth, jobs and social cohesion. However, limited awareness of the specific skill needs, existing skill gaps and mismatches hamper the sector’s competitiveness. Therefore, new sector specific curricula and innovative forms of professional teaching should be used to match the supply of skills with the demand of the labour market.
The Skills4CMT project is based on the needs expressed in the following EU level policies, strategies and agendas: the EU Tourism Policy, the European Strategy for More Growth and Jobs in CMT, the EU Blue Growth Agenda, and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive. The project contributes strongly to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, in particular on SDGs 4, 8, 12, 13, 14. In addition, based on the exploratory research by the consortium, the needs for the project are national, regional, and organisational.
The Skills4CMT project makes a fundamental change to sector-specific skills development by improving the quality and digitalisation of thematic higher education in coastal and maritime tourism, since investing in people is a condition for its sustainable and competitive growth. The objective is threefold:
1.1. To increase understanding of the needed sector-specific skills and qualifications in CMT to tackle skills gaps and mismatches
1.2. To develop a learning-outcomes-oriented curriculum to strengthen the strategic and structured cooperation of higher education institutions in CMT education
1.3. To increase the use of innovative digital technologies, methods and tools as well as open educational resources (OER) for skills development in CMT
The main target group consists of potential and existing labour force working in coastal and maritime tourism in European cold-water destinations: Baltic Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Other beneficiaries include higher education and vocational institutions and their teachers, tourism entrepreneurs and destination level organisations. Partners are six higher education institutions coming from five European cold-water countries with sea borders, namely Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The participants to be reached are the following:
*200 participants piloting the curriculum, eLearning opportunities, OER and getting certification
*300 additional participants who will register in eLearning opportunities and OER to get the materials
*64 industry stakeholders participating in the development of IOs
*11 educators from five countries participating to Learning Activity for Joint Staff Training
It is envisaged that over 5.000 people will be reached directly or indirectly through project activities.
The Skills4CMT project will produce three Intellectual Outputs, five Multiplier Events (one in each country) and a Learning Activity for Joint Staff Training (Dundalk, IE).
Intellectual outputs will be structured as follows:
IO1: Occupational profiles of three key occupations in CMT with descriptions of the knowledge, skills and competencies (connected to objective 1.1.)
IO2: Curriculum of coastal and maritime tourism (20 ECTS credits: 4 x 5 ECTS courses) (connected to objective 1.2.)
IO3: eLearning opportunities and Open Educational Resources (OER) for the curriculum (connected to objective 1.3.)
The IOs are sustainable: they are integrated in the existing study offering of the partner institutions after the project implementation.
Dissemination activities aim at communicating the project and the Intellectual Outputs to the widest possible audience include. All partners are regional universities and the key players in regional development of coastal and maritime tourism. They cooperate extensively with different tourism stakeholders and are engaged in regional, national and international tourism industry and education networks, which provide great means for project dissemination.
The Skills4CMT project aligns higher education better to the needs and opportunities of the coastal and maritime tourism sector in Europe, its countries and regions supporting the EU smart specialisation. It closes skills gaps and mismatches contributing to Erasmus+ priorities and promotes the development of the skills required to support the growth and competitiveness of coastal and maritime tourism sector. The Skills4CMT project stimulates regional economy, job creation and maintaining in coastal communities. As tourism is an international business, the project supports European cold-water destinations to grow as a coherent tourism destination and a common market.
