Project “Integrated Culinary Arts and Restaurant Sector Employment Solutions for a Skilled and Inclusive Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Region” (ICARUS)

ICARUS seeks to facilitate labor mobility in the restaurant/culinary business in the RO-BG cross border (CB) area through joint skill-building and employment mobility support services. It aims at creating preconditions for CB labor integration by developing a comprehensive support scheme based on the following key activities and tools:

·         VET training programs fine-tuned to the needs of CB business

·         Methods and tests for assessing potential employees’ personal skills

·         Pilot vocational training with CB mobility for 120 persons

·         Pilot assessment of the personal skills of 150 persons

·         Continuous VET and lifelong learning pathways

·         A sustainable RO-BG Cross Border Center for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business - a support structure linking education providers, job seekers and business, and providing possibilities for personalized advisory services and counseling for mobile workers and CB employers.    

These activities should result in improved transferability of employees’ professional and personal skills to business conditions at the other side of the border and should alleviate the uncertainties (for both employees and employers) about the consequences of CB employment. 

The overall project impact should be to increase labor force preparedness for employment mobility and raise the attractiveness of CB employment among employers and the labor force.

Project activities:

A2 Research and analysis of the training and employment support needs of potential employees and employers in the culinary and restaurant sector in the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region – professional skills. 

A3 Research and analysis of the training and employment mobility support needs of potential employees and employers in the culinary and restaurant sector in the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region – soft skills. 

A4 Development of an Integrated Training and Employment Mobility  Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area

A5 Institutionalization of Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Centre for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business

A6 Pilot Implementation of the Integrated Training and Employment Mobility Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area – hard skills

A7 Pilot Implementation of the Integrated Training and Employment Mobility Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area – soft skills assessment and labor mobility preparedness

A8 Capacity-Building for VET providers in the CB area in view of stimulating cross border labor mobility

A9 Publicity and Visualization

Expected results: 

·         Analysis of stakeholders’ labor mobility support needs 

·         Improved quality of VET via integration of  PL validation, soft skills assessment  and labor mobility preparedness training

·         Integrated sector-specific CB training and employment support scheme

·         A CB Labor Mobility Facilitation Centre 

·         470 participants in joint support activities

Achieved results (so far):

1.         Research and analysis of the training and employment support needs of potential employees and employers in the culinary and restaurant sector in the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region – professional skills

·         2 assessment reports developed

·         1 Good practices compendium developed

·         RAP incl. policy recommendations developed

2.         Research and analysis of the training and employment mobility support needs of potential employees and employers in the culinary and restaurant sector in the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region – soft skills

·         Identification of employers’ requirements for the soft skills of employees in the culinary/restaurant sector - through focus groups - 3 focus group workshops conducted in Dobrich (BG), 106 participants in total

·         Summarizing soft-skills profiles on the basis of focus group results - Developed 4 Employee Soft Skills Profiles (of 5 key soft skills)

3.         Development of an Integrated Training and Employment Mobility  Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area

·         Developed 4 integrated VET curricula with CB relevance and prior learning validation pathways (continuous VET), for 4 key professions: 1) cook; 2) baker/pastry-maker, 3) restauranteur, 4) waiter/bartender

·         Developed of Soft Skills Assessment Model (20 situational judgment tests + Instructions for administering situational judgment tests)

·         Developed a training program for labor mobility preparedness and support in the RO-BG cross border area (5 courses + 5 training kits)

4.         Institutionalization of Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Centre for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business

·         established and equipped a Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Centre for the Facilitation of Labor Mobility in the Culinary and Restaurant Business with own VET training facilities

5.         Pilot Implementation of the Integrated Training and Employment Mobility Support Scheme for the RO-BG

·         conducted:  a) pilot prior learning recognition and    b) pilot vocational training courses in skills for 3 professions - cook, waiter/bartender, baker/pastry maker – more than 100 trainees successfully participated in the assessment and graduated

6.         Pilot Implementation of the Integrated Training and Employment Mobility Support Scheme for the RO-BG Cross Border Area – soft skills assessment and labor mobility preparedness

·         Implementation of Soft Skills Assessment and Labor Mobility Support Initiative for the restaurant and culinary business in the CB area - 150 persons assessed and trained in the CB initiative

7. Capacity-Building for VET providers in the CB area in view of stimulating cross border labor mobility – conducted one 2-day Capacity-Building and Training Workshop with 40 participants