Erasmus+ Internship
cooking and hairdressing sector
In 23rd of March 2014 the team of the Associazione Art. Cult. A Rocca and EProjectConsult International department welcomed the participants of the mobility project Foreign Training for the Youth from VLC in Starachowice (Staże zagraniczne dla młodzieży Ośrodka Szkolenia i Wychowania w Starachowicach) from Poland. Sixteen young participants arrived to gain more experience and knowledge in their fields of studies which is cooking and hairdressing. They become acquainted with the traditional Italian and Sicilian cuisine, cooking methods, local recipes, as hair treatment methods, hairdresser shop equipment as working environment and customer service in general in Italy. They were placed in 6 different work places.
Cultural Programme
Of course, life does not consist only of professional improvement and duties. Our participants got around wonderful Sicily experiencing 3 exciting excursions. First trip was to Mount Etna which is the Europe’s highest active volcano. Getting up higher the weather was freezing but still it was worth of it because of the amazing view.
- Palermo can be called as the capital of Sicily. Palermo is Sicily’s cultural, economic and touristic capital. Numerous tourists are attracted to the city for its good Mediterranean weather, its renowned gastronomy and restaurants, its Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque churches, palaces and buildings, and its nightlife and music. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial centre. Participants were brought to the most beautiful places in the center of the city as provided with the free time to get around and see the most interesting places for them.
- Cefalù is an amazingly beautiful place with mysterious and long history, located on the northern coast of Sicily. Nowadays Cefalù is popular among the tourists, it is modernized in accordance to meet the necessities of a modern city, while in the same time preserving the testimonies of its past. The population is around 14 000 but it is triple during the tourism season. Right now it is not crowded with the tourists so trainees were able to enjoy the magical peace and views of this beautiful town undisturbed.
- The third excursion were to nearby town Milazzo which is one of the most important cities of Sicily and is the third-largest city in the province of Messina. The city proper has a population of over 32,000 inhabitants, and is the point of reference for a vast territory, from Villafranca Tirrena to Patti (over 200 thousand inhabitants). It is also an important centre of the Metropolitan Area Stretto di Messina, with the city of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto nearby. Located at the base of a peninsula that juts into the Tyrrhenian Sea with a small promontory, it is 43 km (26.72 mile) from the capital city of Messina. Participants were introduced with the most important places in the town and enjoyed dinner there in Milazzo.
Internship
- Marius il Ristorante
- Style Nino Biondo
- Coiffeur Pina
- Coiffeur Nobile Antonella
- Coiffeur Rosina
General Skills and Competencies Acquired:
- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources in the field related;
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: learning on developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others;
- Development of specialized Italian language skills;
- Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems;
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making;
- Developing social perspectives and being aware of reactions of other co-workers and supervisors;
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying and taking the time to understand the points being made.
Evaluation of the project
The evaluation of the project is excellent. Employees of the A Rocca Association and persons involved in this project hope it was a rich and useful experience for all the participants. The monitoring team did its best in order to satisfy the expectations of each participant and to ensure the communication with the sending organization at each stage of the project.
This mobility project was a great opportunity for the participants to gain experience in the field of their studies in international environment. The cooking trainees generally performed many activities in order to comprehend the different skills needed to become specialist in the field of cooking. They were introduced with the specific of Italian cuisine, culinary techniques used in Italian kitchen, procedures of national and regional dishes preparation.
Hairdressing trainees learned to perform tasks related to the specific of beauty salons under the supervision of professionals. The trainees generally followed to many activities in order to comprehend the different skills needed to become specialist in the field of hairdressing. They developed themselves professionally by getting skills and knowledge like choosing the right tools and substances for work, use various washing and conditioning methods for different types of hair.
All the participants got invaluable experience by working in an international environment, knowledge about labour organization in Italian workplaces and experienced cultural similarities and differences in daily life.
Conclusion
Our team were always there for the participants to help to solve any problems, to give advice and to help to fulfil their expectations. We provided 24/7 service in case of necessity.
According to provided evaluations it seemed that participants are satisfied with this mobility project. We received high evaluation for our provided services as internship placements and cultural programme. We really hope that gained knowledge, skills and experience abroad will enrich their personalities and professional performance.
Our team is very satisfied with the participant’s involvement in the project and personal interest of each person involved. We hope we can continue our cooperation with Voluntary Labour Corps, Training and Education Centre in Starachowice.