Day of Experience: Young people discover career opportunities in tourism

Day of Experience: Young people discover career opportunities in tourism

At a time when many industries, including tourism, are suffering from recruitment challenges, an exciting event was recently organized to address these challenges. The number of apprentices has halved in recent years, which raises alarm bells. Franz Huditz, the state tourism training officer, emphasizes the urgency of introducing young people to the variety of training paths. The “Day of Experience” at the Warmbad Villach vocational school was intended to achieve exactly that.

This day was not only a source of information, but also gave participants the opportunity to gain practical experience. The event was organized by the gastronomy, hotel and food industry specialist groups in collaboration with the Carinthia Education Directorate. Here, interested young people were able to experience and try out various careers in tourism and the food industry up close.

Insight into different professional fields

The “Day of Experience” put together a diverse program that was specifically intended for young people. Stefan Sternad, the head of the gastronomy specialist group, emphasized how important such events are in offering young people a realistic view of the professions. "Many young people have little idea of ​​the individual apprenticeship professions. That's why at the "Day of Experience" everyone who is interested not only has the opportunity to try out the various professions at practical stations, but also to find out directly from apprentices and their bosses about the training and its challenges," says Sternad.

What was particularly exciting was the opportunity for the participants to talk to local role models, the so-called “Local Heroes”, at the Antenne Sound-BAR. This enabled the young people to have a direct exchange about career paths and professional experiences.

Enthusiasm among young people

The response to the “Day of Experience” was overwhelming. Around 200 young people came to the Warmbad Villach vocational school and enthusiastically took part in the various stations. Martin Vallant, state guild master of the food industry, said positively about the event: "We saw how motivated all the young people were. But the most important thing is: they had fun trying out the different professions at the practical stations. This is the best prerequisite for a later career in one of these areas."

In addition, the participants experienced speed dating with potential apprenticeship companies, during which some entrepreneurs made concrete offers for apprenticeships and were already able to receive confirmations. This shows that the event was not only successful, but also crucial for the young people's professional future.

The “Day of Experience” initiative could be an important step in combating the shortage of apprentices in tourism and other sectors. It remains to be seen to what extent such events will contribute to the long-term stabilization of training numbers in the sector. as news.wko.at reports.