The round table on "Enhancing the Role of Mentoring in Tourism and Hospitality at the Present Stage" took place the day before, on 31 March, in the Academic Council Hall of the Volga University of Sport and Tourism. The invited guests were experts in the field of hotel, restaurant, and hospitality industry - participants attended both in person and online via video conferencing.
The main topics were mentoring in higher education in today's conditions, the role of independent assessment of qualifications in determining the quality and level of training in the system of higher and secondary vocational education, as well as supporting trainees and interns in the organisation's operations.
"To be a mentor is a great honour and immense work, so the selection of such specialists should be quite thorough, high quality and multi-stage - said in his welcoming speech, Deputy President of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia, a member of the Council for professional qualifications in the field of health Yuri Ushanov. - We need to provide the tourism and hospitality industry with highly qualified specialists, but in this matter we inevitably face a problem: employers in one and the same field have different requirements for the same specialties. It is very difficult for the education sector to anticipate all these demands, and we need to establish contact between educational institutions and employers. It is the development of professional standards that can help us learn to speak the same language, understand each other's requirements and begin successful and mutually beneficial cooperation.
The session also looked at the issues of mass service and mentor education. Particular attention was paid to the urgent need for professionals in the areas of sustainable tourism development, spatial planning and public-private partnerships.
The participants presented and discussed information services, development priorities in tourism and hospitality training, as well as an official professional standard for tutors and its practical importance.
The Volga Region University was thanked for the high quality training of tourism and hospitality professionals - it is necessary to keep a link between present and future employees to transfer knowledge and experience, to improve the general state of tourism and hospitality throughout Russia and the Republic of Tatarstan in particular.
