Magazine: Strategic issues in vocational trade education

The trade has been waiting for this for two decades: the government started to deal with the most urgent problems of the trade on ministerial level. Zoltán Varga, deputy director responsible for trade matters in the Dobos C. József Hospitality Vocational School initiated the dialogue between various trade organisations, which later resulted in a recommendation to the ministry about necessary changes in legislation. He told our magazine that Dr Viktória Horváth, deputy state secretary responsible for tourism was a good partner during the negotiations, who was really receptive to the issues raised by the trade’s working group. In drafting the trade’s recommendation MVI president László Kovács and Rudolf Semsei, the head of MRSZ’s event gastronomy department were of great help. The recommendation for creating a strategic plan for the improvement of vocational education was a result of reasonable compromises between various stakeholders. One of the most debated issues, the master programme isn’t included because the state secretariat has already started consultation with the parties involved, independent from the trade’s working group. Another field, where the ‘coalition’ led by Mr Varga took the first steps forward is that of apprenticeship, developing the conditions for doing a stage. Zoltán Varga is of the opinion that finally hospitality is in good hands at the state secretariat and there other reasons for optimism, too: we have three Michelin starred restaurants.