Thirty high schools have already applied for the Raise the Bar Youth educational program, designed for final-year students in hospitality and tourism secondary schools, and applications remain open. Initiated by Coca-Cola HBC Croatia, the program is taking place for the fifth consecutive year. This year's edition features an adapted duration and fully refreshed content to help students develop the skills that will open doors to a successful career in hospitality and tourism.
These skills include communication and teamwork, which a European survey of vocational school students also highlights as crucial for their future employability. As part of the program, students will also learn about basic financial concepts alongside one of Croatia's most prominent mathematics teachers, Toni Milun, who will teach them how to manage money responsibly. Those aspiring to open their own establishment will certainly benefit from the self-employment module. The new edition of Raise the Bar Youth also introduces an event management module, where Dunja Ivana Ballon, director of the Days of Communication festival, will share her valuable insights.
"The strong interest from schools in the new edition of our program further motivates us to continue developing Raise the Bar Youth in line with the changing world of work. This year, we have completely refreshed the program to make it even more relevant for students and to align it with the skills they will need in their future careers. We want to provide them with additional practical knowledge and hands-on experience that will serve them well, regardless of whether they choose to enter the job market, continue their education, or embark on their own entrepreneurial journey after graduation", said Igor Zgrabljić, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director at Coca-Cola HBC Adria.
Beyond theoretical knowledge, Raise the Bar Youth offers participants the opportunity to learn from the experiences of successful professionals who have built notable careers in the hospitality industry. Among them are Dominik Bečvardi, co-owner of the popular Zagreb bar Peaches&Cream and lead lecturer at the Raise the Bar Academy; Anteo Ivanišević, owner of Bar Sistema in Split and co-owner of String's bar; and Marko Gajski, head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant LD on Korčula.
The program also encourages excellence, offering the most successful schools entering the competition a chance to win valuable prizes. The first-place school will receive EUR 5,000, the second-place school EUR 3,000, and the third-place school EUR 2,000. Students from the top three schools will also have the opportunity to participate in an exclusive masterclass lectures at their schools.
To participate in the program, students must complete three modules and their accompanying quizzes; while entering the competition requires completing all modules and their respective quizzes. Last year, out of 35 participating schools, the most successful were the final-year students from the Tourism, Hospitality, and Food School in Bjelovar, Craft School Požega, and the School of Economics and Tourism in Daruvar.
For five years now, the program has been supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth and the Association of Hospitality and Tourism Schools of the Republic of Croatia, which gathers almost half of the schools the program targets. To date, more than 5,000 final-year students have participated in the program, with over 1,200 completing it in the fourth edition alone.
Raise the Bar Youth is part of the broader Raise the Bar Adria platform, through which Coca-Cola HBC Adria contributes to the development of skills needed for the job market and promotes excellence in hospitality and tourism through scholarships and the Academy.
For all information regarding the implementation of the program, hospitality and tourism secondary schools, as well as schools offering agrotourism technician programs, can reach out directly via email to raisethebar@cchellenic.com.