The Maribor effect: enhancing professional skills abroad
The EU-funded Intervet project helps increase and create new opportunities for learning mobility in the Western Balkans.
21/12/2022
Engjull Miftari is a 17-year-old high school student from Kosovo. He is in the final year of the “7 September” Vocational Education School in Prishtina. Engjull says he’s been fascinated by the catering business since a very young age. He explains that this was probably because of his father: “My father was a chef in a restaurant for over 17 years, and I would sometimes accompany him to work; I fell in love with this profession,” Engjull says. As it wasn’t possible to study cookery at high school, he chose to study tourism in general, including managing tourism agencies and reception desks, and he says that he doesn’t regret his decision – and even if he had a wider choice, he wouldn’t now choose a different professional school.
“The internship experience in Prishtina was very useful. However, I had the feeling that I needed more practical work experience as well as variety.”
Engjull Miftari, high school studentEngjull proved to be a very good student, with high grades and praise from his teachers. As a result, he was assigned to a four-month internship at the reception desk at the Grand Hotel, one of the historical hotels in the centre of Prishtina. “The internship experience in Prishtina was very useful. However, I had the feeling that I needed more practical work experience as well as variety,” says Engjull. This opportunity came very soon when the EU-funded Intervet project launched a call for international internships for Vocational Education (VET) high school students from Kosovo.
As a VET School student, Engjull heard about this opportunity from his English language teacher and instantly decided to apply. He fulfilled the criteria by being a good student and having knowledge of English, and he was chosen among the young students from Kosovo who would join a one-month internship programme in a mountain hotel in Maribor, Slovenia. “I was very excited,” Engjull remembers.
“My experience during the internship in Maribor was excellent. Not only did I upgrade my professional skills, but I also learned about the culture and developed my language skills too.”
Engjull Miftari, high school studentDuring the internship in Maribor, Engjull practised his skills in various positions, from administrative support to the hotel maintenance service section, to restaurant service, reception desk and the spa. Apart from gaining professional experience, in his free time he also had an opportunity to visit the city with other students and to learn more about the culture. They visited the city museum and main attractions and also had the chance to visit Ljubljana, and the city of Graz in Austria which is not far from Maribor.
All in all, this was a great learning experience for Engjull and other students. “My experience during the internship in Maribor was excellent. Not only did I upgrade my professional skills, but I also learned about the culture and developed my language skills,” says Engjull.
About the project:
The aim of the EU-funded Intervet Western Balkans project is to create opportunities for learning mobility in Western Balkans training centres, the internationalisation of the VET System and an improved culture of learning mobility in the field of VET. To achieve these, the project is implementing activities at two levels: on the one hand, the mobility of VET learners and on the other, the competence building of VET staff. Their consortium includes business and education associations, small and medium-sized enterprises, VET centres, chambers of commerce and universities from the six Western Balkans and eight EU countries, while Prishtina REA is the Kosovo country partner of the project. By the time it is finished, the project aims to have implemented 56 PRO-type mobilities, 360 placements of one month, 54 job shadowing experiences, participation of 36 VET teachers in summer schools – in Amsterdam, Bologna, Lyon, Maribor, and Seville, and participation of 72 VET teachers and managers in activities hosted by the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST), ROC Da Vinci College (The Netherlands) and SEPR (France)
Photo credits: INTERVET