This Social Promotion Foundation Project aims to contribute to the emancipation and economic role of women, and stop the heavy migration, through the creation of employment in the tourism sector. Funded by the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro – Italia e Mediterraneo, the project, implemented with our local partner PRODES, includes an extensive program of professional training.
During the period between the 1st April and the 30th September, youths, stakeholders, entrepreneur women and women in rural areas participates in the trainings and workshops organized in the framework of this Project.
The PRODES Institute of Management and Services (IMS) is providing youths and stakeholders with rural tourism orientation, is organizing in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism awareness campaigns targeting youth from different schools to let them know more about the potentials of Lebanese villages and benefit from them during their family tours and outings, as new touristic destinations.
During these last 6 months, 3 awareness campaigns were organized for around 310 youths aging between 15 and 18 years old from different schools.
Teachers and students are well satisfied from these orientation sessions, since it is lightening on new sectors and ideas that are not well known and it give them an opportunity to discover Tourism Sector and see its richness and ways to explore it more in the future.
IMS is also organizing training programs for youths in Hospitality Management and Soft Skills. In this period 11 youths participated in a one week training at IMS during September 2018 and accomplished the second phase of the program where they participated in several workshops such as Cooking, Restaurant, laundry, housekeeping, acting skills, Event planning and time management.
In the final stage, they will be attending Entrepreneurship training program and Event planning program. Once they fulfilled the program they will be able to become trainers for other enrolled participants, as a TOT (training of trainers) approach.
On the other side, 3 new girls were enrolled in the program in September, they attended basic skills training in Service, restaurant, Kitchen and Laundry, acting skills and time management. They will be completing the program all along the year.
This program was a success and is attracting youth since it allows them to discover the basic of Hospitality Management domain and give them time to think of it as their future career.
The Project is also organizing TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS, some of them from micro-businesses who are being trained and monitored.
From April to September 2018, 64 women attended several modular training programs according to their interests and demands. These programs were divided into 3 main topics: Entrepreneurship, Guesthouse Management, and Hospitality Management in addition to a 1 day workshop about “Social Media tools.”