Earlier this year the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority and some other European organizations, concluded a project financed under the Pilot Measure of the former Leonardo da Vinci II Programme (2000-2006). HOTSME sought to promote a learning culture amongst the employees of small hotels. This project also placed a high emphasis on the non-formal/anti-conventional learning patterns. In fact, work experiences of employees were also considered as part of this learning development to take place in the working environment.

This project aimed to enhance the creativity, sensitivity and other individual qualities of the employees. Moreover, this project also created the right environment for networking between managers of all the participant small and medium managers.

An important aspect of this pilot project was the creation of a non-formal and informal learning environment for all participant employees. This meant that employees were given the opportunity to develop and learn at their own pace. Hotel staff with low qualifications were assisted with training and got recognition for their training. The recognition and formal validation of non-formal learning played an important part in this project.

Besides the structured modules, this project also involved the creation of materials in all national languages of the partnership (German, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Lithuanian and English) that included a methodological guide for training providers and also an evaluation/best-practice report depicting the experiences and developments based on the results of the networking exercise.

Assistance was also provided by the Malta Institute of Tourism studies (ITS) and the Malta Hotels & Catering Services.

A grant of €439,086.00 was awarded for the implementation of this project.