Students from all over the world have applied
Around 400 foreign students of 23 nationalities have applied to the Algarve School of Hospitality and Tourism (EHTA) in Faro, which will offer its first course in English in the coming academic year, it was announced on Wednesday.
The newly created Tourism Management course will be taught in English and will “respond to the record number of international applications” that the school has received, Turismo de Portugal (Portugal’s Tourism Board) said in a statement.
The course is one of EHTA’s training programmes for the 2024/2025 academic year, along with the Pastry/Bakery Technician vocational course, the only one in the Algarve, according to the school, and the night course in Kitchen Management and Production.
“The Algarve Hotel and Tourism School has never received so many international applications as it did during the special scheme phase, which took place in April and was dedicated to young people not resident in Portugal or the European Union,” EHTA said.
The vocational training school for tourism emphasised that “nearly 400 foreign students of 23 nationalities applied,” with the majority opting for the Tourism Management course, which will be “taught entirely in English”.
The candidates applied from several countries, including Nigeria, Burundi, Rwanda, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Gambia, Nepal and Liberia, said EHTA and Turismo de Portugal, which oversees hotel management schools in Portugal.
“For the various courses led in Portuguese, Angola tops the list of PALOP countries (African Portuguese Language Countries) with the most applications under this special regime, followed by Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Brazil,” it added.
The “success achieved by former international students” who attended courses at the school is considered one of the main reasons why so many foreign students applied.
“The best ambassadors are undoubtedly our international alumni. A high percentage of them successfully complete their training at our school and go on to work in Portugal. In fact, most of them get a job straight away in the company where they did their internship,” said Maria Eduarda Freitas, from EHTA’s National and International Applications Department, quoted in the statement.
In addition to the foreign alumni who remain in Portugal to work when they finish their course, there are also international alumni who have returned to their countries “better qualified and prepared to contribute to the development of their countries in the area of tourism,” she added.
“As for national students, the first phase of applications is already open and runs until June 18 (for post-9th grade vocational courses) and July 16 (for post-12th grade courses),” EHTA said, also revealing that it has added the Pastry/Bakery Technician vocational course to the traditional training offer in Cookery, Pastry, Restaurant and Bar.
The creation of a nighttime course in Kitchen Management and Production, with an in-person and online component, is another novelty for the next academic year and will make it possible to respond to the “requests that have been coming in from working professionals who want to enhance their knowledge and acquire qualifications of excellence,” the EHTA also promoted.
The Algarve Hotel and Tourism School, located in Faro, is one of 12 in Portugal and has 189 vacancies for courses in the areas of cookery, pastry, catering and beverages, hotel/accommodation and tourism management.
Source: LUSA
