Fort chamber part of European plan for up-skilling adventure tourism sector
LOCHABER Chamber of Commerce and the University of the Highlands and Islands this week announced a new European Commission-funded partnership that will help improve the skills of people working in the adventure tourism sector in the Highland region and in Estonia, Bulgaria, Ireland and Denmark.
From 2018 The Adventure Tourism Innovation Partnerships (AVIP) project, which includes the chamber, the university – which is lead partner – Tallinn University (Estonia), Varna Chamber of Tourism (Bulgaria), Momentum (Ireland) and the European E-learning Institute (Denmark), will develop education and training programmes to strengthen the skills of young tourism workers, particularly in economies disadvantaged by remoteness.
Responding to skills gaps in adventure tourism, the AVIP project has been set up to deliver quality, relevant, flexible, innovative and transferable learning pathways to students, entrepreneurs, employees and others.
These vocational and academic pathways will not only meet the industry requirement for enhanced digital competencies and entrepreneurial capabilities, they will also focus on giving individuals and organisations the skills to respond to and capitalise on the growing opportunities within the sector.
Adventure tourism is widely recognised as a powerful way to promote sustainable development in rural and economically marginal areas, generating smart employment and jobs growth, as well as providing strong incentives for conserving the natural environment.
Dr Steve Taylor, the head of the University of the Highlands and Islands’ centre for recreation and tourism research, said: ‘This is a great opportunity for Lochaber Chamber of Commerce and West Highland College UHI to help bring cutting-edge training to tourism businesses in the region. We look forward to collaborating with our international partners, and working with businesses and tourism organisations in Lochaber and the wider Highlands region to develop meaningful and instructive training courses to this increasingly important sub-sector of the Scottish economy.’
The project was announced as Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s Lochaber ideas Week, November 13-17, got under way. The week is a celebration of business, education and community through a gathering of exceptional talks, workshops, competitions, discussion and networking opportunities.