Erasmus+ for EU chef training

"Koch G5" are calling for reform to chefs' training across all countries. The European Chefs Union is taking part in an European Union (EU) funding project as part of the Erasmus+ education programme. The project includes surveys in schools, companies and associations of the countries involved.

To ensure that expert knowledge is passed onto the next generation, the federation of the five German-speaking chefs' associations, "Koch G5", regularly organises the cross-border knowledge congress "Young Chefs Unplugged" for young chefs up to the age of 25. The Koch G5 are now participating together in this way in the forward-looking Erasmus+ project Young Chefs Unplugged.

The project partners involved all agree that "the aim is to improve the vocational education and training of chefs and to make our occupation even more attractive across Europe. To do this, we want to find out how the training regulations are implemented in practice in the participating countries participating, and how satisfied the chef trainees are with this in each case".

ABOUT THE KOCH G5

The five German-speaking chefs' associations have come together to form Koch G5: Verband der Köche Deutschlands e. V., Verband der Köche Österreichs, Schweizer Kochverband, Südtiroler Köcheverband, and Vatel Club Luxembourg. Together they reach 35,000 German-speaking professional chefs. Their aim is to expand the European network and encourage young talent.

To support this, a number of vocational colleges and training companies in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Switzerland are being surveyed online in 2021. The aim is also to compare and evaluate the training materials of the project countries. The Erasmus+ project Young Chefs Unplugged has a social-science basis and is funded by the European Union.

Chefs' training scrutinized across Europe

The goal is to use the survey results to compare the satisfaction of graduates in the different countries. In future, the feedback is to be systematised and collected on a regular basis. A criteria catalogue should also help to apply findings from best practice examples and recommendations in selected companies and schools. "We are committed to learning from each other across all countries and ensuring training in our countries is well-established for the future,” explained the Koch G5 members. “So ensuring the next generation of professionals is fit for current requirements is especially worthwhile."

Offering prospects

Koch G5 want to present an initial, official final report of the Young Chefs Unplugged project at the start of 2022 and publish it on a dedicated EU website. The implementation is based on the Erasmus+ funding programme, which has been bringing together a wide range of European collaborative projects since 2014. "The aim is to continue the initiative in the years ahead. Additional chefs' associations of other EU countries may also be recruited as partners," – this is the vision of the Koch G5. "We would like to see a sustainable partnership in all participating countries to help combat the shortage of skilled workers. We are all united by the goal of keeping young chefs in the sector and improving the image of the occupation."

ABOUT ERASMUS+

The Erasmus+ programme aims to promote general and vocational education and training, youth and sport in the European Union. Erasmus+ brings together the previous EU programmes supporting lifelong learning, youth and sport, and the European cooperation programmes in higher education. Erasmus+ has a budget of around €14.8 billion. By 2020, more than 4 million people will have benefited from EU funding. The programme is set to run for seven years and aims to improve skills and employability and to modernise the systems of general education and of vocational education and training, and of child and youth welfare. The follow-up programme Erasmus+ 2021-2027 started on 1 January 2021.