Accommodation and travel services professional evaluation of foreign/master skill exams and suggestions for improvement

In our country, the importance given to vocational education in recent years and employment-based plans positively affect the intention of individuals to obtain vocational certificates. These certificates within the scope of vocational education contribute to the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of individuals. In the journeyman/master certificate programs implemented through Vocational Training Centers, a skill exam is given to the trainees after the theoretical exams. With this system, trainees can obtain journeyman and mastership certificates, respectively, in branches belonging to their professional fields. In this study, skill exams in the fields of Accommodation and Travel Services were examined. In the study, it is aimed to present suggestions for the evaluation and development of skill exams. The population of the research is the trainees and related vocational teachers who participated in the skill exams on the provincial basis of Kastamonu. The research sample consists of 12 trainees and 5 teachers in the province. The research is a qualitative study and interview technique was applied. In the analysis of the data, descriptive analysis method was used, and interview forms consisting of 6 questions for the trainees and 4 questions for the teachers were applied. The trainees were asked for their suggestions for the evaluation of the exams and the teachers for the development of the exams. It is thought that the study will contribute to the quality of the skill exams in the field of Accommodation and Travel Services and will support the changes and innovations to be made by the General Directorate of Vocational and Technical Education. When the literature was examined, it was seen that there was no study related to journeyman/master skill exams. In this respect, it is foreseen that the research will constitute a data source for the literature and similar studies to be done in the future.