Governor of the region Oleg Kozhemyako: VSUES College will become the base for training specialists in catering in Primorye

The meeting with the leading restaurateurs of the city of Vladivostok was held yesterday at the College of Service and Design of VSUES by the governor of the region Oleg Kozhemyako. The main topic of the meeting was the need for timely and high-quality training of specialists for the service sector, catering enterprises, and the tourism industry.

-We decided to reformat the vocational education system, gradually taking several key areas, including tourism and public catering, which form employment in the economy of the Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako said. - This process is very complicated, but there is a great need for personnel in the industry. VSUES turned out to be the most prepared among educational institutions of Primorsky Krai in terms of the availability of material resources, teachers, willingness and ability to work according to WorldSkills standards, so we decided that the VSUES College of Service and Design would become the base for training specialists in these industries.

The Governor noted that today there are about 2,500 catering outlets in the Primorsky Krai, more than 700 in Vladivostok. Annually about 5 million tourists visit Primorye, who assess the region, first of all, by the quality of food and service. With highly qualified chefs, confectioners, waiters and other specialists in the field, Vladivostok is able to become the gastronomic capital of the Far East and will attract an even greater flow of tourists.

In turn, in order to meet the needs of guests, establishments must constantly improve. Cooks and waiters need to improve their level, undergo recertification. We also need new personnel.

-The guys who come to the public catering system of the region must understand what needs to be done, what employers need, the governor says. -Therefore, a new accelerated program will be launched at the college. School graduates or others who wish will be able to take one-year courses for chefs in various areas of the world''s cuisines, depending on the needs of catering. Having completed training, practice here, a graduate with a qualification of a cook will be able to immediately start work, receive a decent wage and understand their prospects. I think that it is also necessary to organize online courses for waiters (and not only), so that guys can get a specialty in a month and start working.

Director of College of Service and Design VSUES Dmitry Kuznetsov led the meeting participants around the main areas of the college, showed the laboratory fund.

- Our laboratory facilities are rich enough and prepared. It allows graduating 100-150 cookery specialists per year. The specialization that the employer will need can be introduced into the educational process without disrupting the current curriculum. Moreover, participation in the WorldSkills movement provides for this opportunity.

The meeting participants reviewed the programs for the development of gastronomic culture in the Primorsky Krai until 2026. In seven years, the program will train 375 specialists. The joint work of the regional government, VSUES and leading restaurateurs will train and produce highly qualified personnel, guarantee them jobs.

- The restaurateurs will directly participate in the educational process - they will involve their specialists in working with students, conduct master classes, provide places for practice, and employ college graduates. The regional budget will provide companies with a subsidy for the education of schoolchildren, - Oleg Kozhemyako assured.

- If this goes the way we planned, the result will be a unique educational project. There are no such people in the region, - Gennady Lazarev, the president of VSUES says. - I would like to emphasize that this is a joint work of the university, the regional government and the restaurateur community. Moreover, not just work, but money investments from each side. And if the parties invest money, then they are interested not in words, but, as they say, according to the objective evaluation. Financial investments, plus the base we have developed (including human and material resources) will definitely give results for business, and for the economy, and for the social sphere of the region.