The shortage of skilled labor and the negative perception of the tourism sector as a "slave labor" are being directly addressed by the private sector and banks in southern Gran Canaria. The Sergio Alonso Foundation, together with CaixaBank Dualiza and the hotel operator LIVVO Hotel Group, has launched the '5-Star Vocation' project, an initiative designed to transform the image of the hospitality industry and secure young talent in the high-end segment.
The project's approach aligns with the strategy of southern Gran Canaria to shift from a high-volume tourism model to one focused on higher value-added tourism, which requires a more qualified and committed workforce. The program is aimed at students in their fourth year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education), Basic Vocational Training, and Intermediate Vocational Training from key schools on the island, including the IES Faro de Maspalomas. Through engaging workshops and guided visits to luxury hotels, the program seeks to give students firsthand experience of the sector's working conditions, dispelling the myth of job insecurity.
According to its promoters, the goal is to demonstrate that the hospitality and tourism sector offers "a path full of possibilities, employability, and development." This initiative represents an investment in the future stability of human capital in a market where competition for service quality is fierce. CaixaBank Dualiza's collaboration underscores the commitment to Vocational Training (FP) connected to the professional world. The project intervenes at a crucial stage of career guidance, linking practical learning with the real needs of companies like LIVVO Hotel Group, which operates large properties in areas such as Maspalomas and Mogán.
The South of Gran Canaria, with its concentration of hotels and resorts, is the ideal laboratory to demonstrate that vocational training in hospitality can be a path to professional success, stability and a long-term future, essential to maintaining the international competitiveness of the destination.
