TUI Academy Boa Vista
Over recent years, the island of Boa Vista has seen a significant increase in the number of international tourists arriving to experience its warm climate and beautiful sandy beaches. As with its neighbouring island of Sal, the tourism industry has had a profound impact on the quality of life of the local people, with poverty rates almost halving since the end of the pandemic. However, Boa Vista struggles to keep up with the increasing demand for qualified workers, who are needed to support hotels and tour operators in delivering high quality experiences to their guests.
TUI Academy Boa Vista supports unemployed young people to gain the professional qualifications they need to work in the tourism industry by offering them free courses in different areas of hospitality. Trainees at the TUI Academy receive a combination of education in a classroom environment and hands-on practice through an internship placement in a hotel unit.
Five different courses are on offer at the TUI Academy to young people based in Boa Vista: basic kitchen operations, food & beverage service, bakery & pastry, floor & laundry services and reception services. In total, 300 trainees are welcomed across the different cohorts running until the end of this three-year programme.
The training is complemented with soft skills courses, covering topics such as leadership, conflict resolution and teamwork. Trainees also have access to language courses to prepare themselves for the intercultural demands of hotels.
One of the particularities of Boa Vista is that villages are scattered far and wide from each other, which makes it difficult and expensive for people to move to the bigger population centres and earn their living every day. So, the TUI Academy also offers free transportation services to 60 of its most economically vulnerable trainees, to enable them to attend classes during the week and return to their families for the weekend.
The TUI Academy in Boa Vista also trains 55 trainers to deliver the different academic programmes as well as tutors to accompany the trainees throughout their professional internship placements.
Project Partner
The Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP – Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional) is a public body under the supervision of the Cape Verdean Ministry of Finance, responsible for implementing employment and vocational training policies defined and approved by the government.
The IEFP’s mission is to promote the employment and employability of citizens through the implementation of active and passive policies and measures for employment, entrepreneurship, self-employment, vocational training and professional internships, preferably through the private sector, municipalities and NGOs, in harmony with the guidelines and strategic options defined by the Cape Verdean government.
