Alcúdia and eAula are committed to training in the tourism sector

The stalls of the Auditori were filled by nearly two hundred students from the IES Alcúdia, the IES Moll Vell and the CC Nuestra Señora de Consolación, who were welcomed by the students of the Protocol VT module, who handed out the accreditations and escorted them to the hall. The director of eMallorca Experience, Miriam Nogueira, was in charge of welcoming the attendees and giving way to the councillor for Education of the Alcúdia Council, Verónica Caro, who emphasised “the enthusiasm that we at the Town Council have for making our young people aware of all the training and professional options focused on the tourism sector that are offered in our municipality”.

The eAula Alcúdia - Tourism Talent 2025 event is divided into three thematic blocks. The first of these, focused on Cooking and Gastronomy, featured the participation of Felip Caldés, a teacher on the cooking course, as well as Josep Damià Horrach, head of Talent Incorporation and Development at Hotels Viva, and Jaume Marchand, a former student on the course.

All three agreed in emphasising the fact that, “in order to progress in this field, continuous training is necessary”, which must continue even when an internship is already being carried out in a workplace. Josep Damià Horrach emphasised “the importance of the 400 hours of internship that are carried out in the Vocational Training Course in Cooking, because a connection is produced between teacher, student and workers that is very necessary. In fact, what we notice most is the lack of qualified staff and these studies provide it.” Both in this seminar and in the others, it was emphasised on several occasions that “knowledge of languages is essential.” Felip Caldés concluded his speech by talking about two aspects such as “vocation and attitude” to prosper.

The second seminar dealt with Food and Beverage Services and featured Professor Ingrid Roman, active alumna Vanessa Schwab and Mónica Pieptanar, Product Manager Division FB of the Sunwing Hotel. In an enjoyable talk, in which they answered questions from the students, they defended “the value of service and social skills as the cornerstones of the sector”. Ingrid Roman explained that “contact with the customer, knowing their needs and anticipating them are essential in our work” and all three dispelled “the myth that anyone can be a waiter; extensive training and a sincere vocation are necessary”.

The third round table was attended by the teacher of Tourist Accommodation Management, Antònia Martorell; former students Joel Martín, Samuel Ortega and Paula Martínez, as well as the director of the Hotel Garden Saladina, Llorenç Garcias. Under the theme of Tourist Accommodation Management, the former students explained that “vocational training gives you a very practical view of what you will encounter in the workplace” and the teacher Antònia Martorell said that “we teachers are constantly updating our knowledge in order to offer up-to-date training in line with how work is done in the hotel sector”. Llorenç Garcias considered that “attitude and the desire to learn, as well as languages, are the most important things”.

The students on the cookery course at IES Alcúdia offered a showcooking demonstration and prepared dishes such as galleta d’oli amb sobrassada vegana (olive oil biscuit with vegan sobrassada), formatges i tàperes (cheese and tarts); a durum de pasta filo de pollastre (filo pastry chicken drumstick); carabassí farcit de marisc (carrot, courgette and seafood stuffed carrots) and a reinterpretació d’ensaïmada (ensaimada reinterpretation).

The mayor of Alcúdia, Fina Linares, was unable to attend the event, but did not want to miss the opportunity to communicate with the students via a video in which she emphasised that “training and specialisation is the best investment you can make in yourselves. Never stop learning and believing in yourselves, because Alcúdia needs young people like you to continue being a benchmark in international tourism”.