An extremely relevant situation for the economy of our country- the active proceeds reaching 13 billion euro- with a strong family vocation which is transmitted form father to son. A peculiarity which is so important that, in the heart of Federalberghi, it has started the Young Hoteliers Committee; a committee with its own regulations, work groups and projects with a strong propensity for the training of all figures of the tourist sector

We have met Marco Leardini, born in March e a delegate for the Committee. With him we have chatted about the problems of the present day, future plans and the expectations for the next summer season.

First of all what is the profile of the young hotelier?
All young entrepreneurs of the sector below 40 belong to the committee. Basically they are children of hoteliers - hereditariness is very high in our sector - or young entrepreneurs who have chosen to open an activity in the reception field.

What are the tasks and the projects that the Committee is considering at this time?
First of all we cannot forget that Federalberghi, and therefore also the Committee, is the national syndicate for hoteliers and therefore it is concerned with all the topics concerning contracts. As well as that it deals with all the aspects and regulations tied into safety, the creation of opportunities that are beneficial and attractive to agencies and air travel companies, but especially training.

Especially training?
Yes, beyond doubt it is our war horse, both because we strongly believe in it and to differentiate our activity. We are convinced that a good training can supply not just more prepared hotel staff and owners, but especially that it is an obliged step to ensure quality in the management of receptive structures.

So you organise courses and stages. Who are they for?
Precisely, courses for everyone: owners and employees. In this period we have organised a course for entrepreneurs on the dietary aspects: what appears, how to choose, the quantity, etc. But we focus our attention mostly on the youngest. It is important for students to enter into contact with the working world immediately. Often young people arrive at the end of their fifth year without ever walking into a hotel, a lack that feeds often incorrect fantasies. To make a concrete example, we can consider my region, Marche, which has no five stars hotels but does have a high concentration of small-medium hotels. In these situations it is necessary to be versatile and always ready to deal with situations that are outside our specific position.

To end, let us focus on the problems. What are you dealing with right now?
Remaining in the topic of training we are working with the Ministry of Public Education the problem of stages. By law, in fact, the student can participate to the stage, which is worth training credits, only during the scholastic period. A paradox if we consider that ours is a job that is mostly seasonal and its peak in during the summer months, when school finishes. To this purpose we are considering proposing to the Ministry a formula of apprenticeship, to be carried out during the summer period.

March.2002