Diseño de servicios turísticos como herramienta para fortalecer la formación técnico profesional del Territorio Turrialba-Jiménez

The IX Report on the State of Costa Rican Education indicates that Technical Education and Vocational
Training [...] partially satisfies the public need to enable Third Cycle and Diversified Education students
to perform specialized work activities, since it does not fully adjust to the needs of the market for job
insertion and shows a low level of incidence in populations located in districts with a lower index of
social development (CONARE, 2023, p. 127).
Within the Turrialba-Jiménez Territory (TTJ), institutions that provide technical and professional training
in Tourism were identified, therefore, it is important to generate concrete actions to satisfy the public
need to enable teachers and students with the skills and knowledge to take on specialized work
activities.
The problem that underpins the proposal is, Which skills and knowledge do Third Cycle and Diversified
Education teachers and students have in the design of tourism services that allow them to complement
the specialized technical training of the Turrialba-Jiménez territory?
The territory is seen as “a social and historical product” (ILCA, 2014, p.17). For the Rural Development
Institute, the TTJ is a priority f or territorial rural development and Turrialba has districts with a low Social
Development Index (IDS) and Jiménez has districts with a medium and low level (MIDEPLAN, 2023,
pp. 41-209).
The target population will be teachers and students of Third Cycle and Diversified Education who are
within some specialty in Tourism of the Technical Professional College of La Suiza, Liceo de Tucurrique
and the Environmental College of Pejibaye and are located within the territory of influence.
From a transdisciplinary approach through the Schools of Social Sciences, Industrial Design
Engineering and Business Administration, through collective work which contributes to sustainable
human development, the proposal implicitly includes protection, survival, fair and equitable coexistence
between human beings from the progressive development of the project.
First, the contents addressed in the three educational institutions of the Turrialba-Jimenez territory will
be determined by focus groups. Second, the knowledge and skills related to the design of tourist
services will be identified from the participating teachers and students through participatory
consultations. Third, through participatory consultations, a training proposal will be developed to
complement the technical-professional training of the participating institutions, through workshops.
Fourth, because of the results of the workshops, a pilot proposal will be generated for training aimed
at mid-level graduates in Rural Tourism, Tourism and Hospitality, Food and Beverag e Tourism,
Ecological Tourism and Coastal Tourism and the Turrialba-Jimenez territory.
Service design is a central component, as it seeks to strengthen the skills of teachers and students in
this specific area by developing training that improves their ability to design and manage high-quality
tourism services, which is essential for their job placement and for the economic and social
development of the Turrialba-Jiménez territory.

El proyecto de Extensión se inscribe en las siguientes líneas de investigación por escuelas:
a. Escuela de Ciencias Sociales se inscribe en las líneas de: Desarrollo Humano Sostenible,
Derechos Humanos de I, II, III y IV Generación, Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad.
b. Escuela de Diseño Industrial, se inscribe en la línea Gestión del Diseño y en la línea Diseño,
Contexto y Entorno.
c. Escuela de Administración de Empresas, se inscribe en la línea de Entorno y Gestión de los
Negocios, de manera más específica en Gestión y marketing y ventas, referente al comportamiento
del consumidor. Además, en Gestión de operaciones y servicios, específicamente en la gestión de la
calidad.