"EDICION 78" INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE NUCLEO DE TURISMO PROCESO DE PLANEAMIENTO Y EVALUACION

Vocational Training in Tourism in the New Century 

In the past few years, Costa Rican economy and society have undergone meaningful transformations.  In the process of such transformations, the Tourist Sector has actively contributed to the economic and social development of the country, as a source of employment and foreign currency within the Gross Internal Product, and by reaching, since 1993, the first place. This sector has even surpassed the banana crop as the main product of export in our country.

          In 1994, due to the technological transformation, the structural adjustment and the modernization of the productive system, the National Vocational Training Institute (INA) adopted new policies, objectives, organization, structure and action field in order to fulfill the flexible, effective and suitable needs the labour market demands.

          Within the institutional framework and before the commitment with the development of the Tourist Sector, the Tourism Center is created in 1996.  Its goal is the search of new paradigms for professional development, which offer a suitable response to the increasing need of qualified human resources, in order to contribute to the international productivity and competitiveness that Tourism faces in our country.  

INA’s Tourism Center’s Goal 

To promote the development and productivity of tourism by means of integrated training systems, based on technical and human competence already established by the labour market standards, in the following subsectors: Gastronomy, Hotel and Tourist Services. 

Tourism Center’s Objectives 

·       To established and keep and up-to-date standardization,  training and certification labour competence system in the Tourism Sector.

·       To provide technological systems to tourist subsector companies to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

·       To implement a quality system for the Center’s internal and external management. 

Active Participation of the Private Sector in
Professional Training in Tourism 

The INA, throughout the Tourism Center, has as its main objective, to obtain a more active participation of  the Private Sector by implementing two specific projects: 

1.     Private Centers of Hotel Training 

 This project was first developed in the Chorotega Regional Unit and began with the stage of “Training for Trainers” which finished in the first quarter of 1999.  The main purpose of this stage was to recruit personnel of high technical qualifications to fulfill management positions in commercial establishments related to tourist activities.  Moreover,  the intention  was to evaluate them, offer technical leveling and basic methodological training to provide the Chorotega Region with a source of instructors and hotels willing to develop the INA´s vocational training programs.

          In the second bimester of 1999,  the Chorotega Regional Unit developed training programs by means of a special hiring system named “LLave en Mano”, which included the following hotels: Condovac La Costa, El Sitio, Las Espuelas, and La Calle de Alcalá.  These programs were focused on areas such as:  Hotel Cuisine, Bartender, Waiter, Chambermaid, and Hotel Receptionist. 

 By the year 2000, the project “Private Centers of Tourist Training” will be extended to the Central Pacific Region, in the places of Garabito and Agüire, especifically. 

2.     Shared Training   

The main representative hotels of San José pointed out the current need of developing training in hotels, and not just restricting them  to the supervised training programs.  As a result, last June, the Center implemented the project “Shared Training” in the area of Hotel Cuisine in the following hotels:  Marriot, Camino Real, Herradura, San José Palacio, Corobicí and Cariari. 

          The project consists of developing in the Technological Unit, the minimal required standards of competence in the different cooking processes and procedures. Then, it transfers chefs the responsibility of mastering such standards.  To accomplish this, a detailed program and schedule are followed.  Besides, they are supported by the INA´s instructor and the relationship is distributed as follows: 25% in the Technological Unit and 75% in the hotel.  

Short and Medium Term Projects 

Besides the projects that allow the active participation of the Private Sector in the professional development in Tourism, INA, throughout the Tourism Center, will develop in short and medium terms three projects which strengthen the quality of the service the Institution offers.  Moreover, these projects will reinforce the level of responses to the training needs and the scope at a national level. 

Tourist Quality Award 

The ICT, the INA, and ACOPROT  (Tourist Professional Association) joined with INTECO´s consultanship, will be implementing a Tourist Quality Assurance Program, using as a strategy the Tourist Quality Award, which will make us pioneers worldwide.

The objective is that, the companies visualize voluntarily the need  of attaining, in a medium term, international quality certificates. 

In this project the  Tourism Center will be in charge of the evaluation of human resources and technological transference, according to the international quality standards.  This fact will allow us to be constantly updated.  Likewise, the Center will be responsible for providing technical support to the companies in order to overcome the nonconformities found. 

Pilot Project “Gastronomic Hygene”        

The Costa Rican Hotel Chamber (CCH), the Ministry of Health, the Tourism Department of Mexico, throughout the ICT and the Tourism Center, will implement a pilot project called  “Gastronomic Hygiene” in three small hotels from the Barceló Group. This Hygiene project will allow to outline the law on dangers and critical aspects that the Ministry of Health is trying to establish. 

Computer Training (CBT) 

Based on the fact that the Tourism Center will have a multimedia and multifuctional laboratory, in the year 2000, it will develop  a pilot project (CBT) in the areas of Hotel Reception and Hygiene and Handling of Food, in order to establish a comparison with the results of the traditional system.

By the year 2001, the Tourism Center will have defined as a project, the professional training in a virtual environment, in the English area.  This will bring benefits to the small and medium size regional companies that, due to their geographical location, face difficulties in the opportunity of getting and accomplishing the traditional training.