SEM - Messenian Catering Association 

The creation of SEM was imperative and necessary due to the stormy problems and challenges in the catering industry, which is unable to keep up with them, forcing it to take leaps rather than steps to catch up with developments. All leaps must be made purposefully after careful design and planning. With a quick look back at the recent past, we notice that 12 years have already passed since the beginning of the financial crisis that hit our economy and critical pillars of the state's economic support, such as catering and hotels.

According to economic data, the catering industry constitutes 25% of the GDP and employs 20% of the country's workforce. Coming out of the financial crisis, the focus was faced with a new international pandemic health crisis (Covid-19) which put catering on "intensive care", but also an energy crisis with huge increases that have affected product prices and still goes on without end.

Catering cannot remain uninvolved as a mere observer in all of the above. The effort to find solutions to many long-standing problems in the catering industry created the need for an innovative and pioneering association. This is SEM with the aim and vision that Messenia will soon be the sustainable force for developing the local economy in all sectors related to catering, hotels and local commercial activity. The association expects to change the philosophy of businesses and employees by providing innovative solutions and ideas that will contribute to the local society and economy by offering high-quality services, new jobs, and economic development of the region. At the same time, the three driving forces of the local economy (Restaurants, Hotels, and Local Commercial Enterprises) will enter a transformational trajectory focused on business innovation and digitisation with extroversion to be able to adapt to the new environment that is being formed.

The goals and objectives of the Messenia Catering Association are the following:
1) Highlighting and using local products through the catering industry, thus supporting the primary sector of Messenia.

2) Finding staff and offering jobs.

SEM aims to create new jobs, emphasising the offer of help to people with special needs so that all people have equal opportunities and rights. On our website, new tools for finding qualified personnel - job search were created, thus addressing one of the most critical problems of service and catering. Professionals can register their needs targeted according to the work sector in which they are looking for employees, and employees are looking for work based on their own criteria such as job position, region, etc.

3) Targeted business and employee training programmes – Reservoir for finding personnel.

SEM aims to create various training programmes through which specific specialised skills will be certified that are intended to help those employed in the tourism and catering industry. This will be achieved through the memorandums of cooperation with institutions that will support our efforts, such as the University of Peloponnese, the University of Piraeus, IEK Bouga, and IEK Delta.

4) Creating electronic catalogues and websites (in various languages), promotion and advertising.

Several local Greek businesses have been affected by the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. SEM resorts to technological and innovative solutions, seeking to create electronic catalogues. On the one hand, to avoid the creation of single-use catalogues, which would raise operating costs, and on the other hand, to ensure customers' safety, we create contactless electronic catalogs with QR codes.

5) Emphasis on creating an environmental footprint of catering and transition to a circular economy.

6) Bridges with organisations and agencies – Commercial agreements to achieve goals.

SEM aims to create memorandums of cooperation with PAPEL, Chamber of Commerce, EOAN, Local Self-Government, etc. In addition, it aims at commercial agreements with intellectual property companies, Banks, energy providers, etc., with the aim of beneficial contracts for the members of the SEM.

7) Disabled people Equal access to businesses (with friendly spaces) for our fellow citizens with special needs (ramps, WC for disabled people, catalogues in Braille, etc.)

Through SEM, the future of focusing not only on the "now" but also on the "next day" as well as the "later" is planned. SEM's vision is to be an example to be followed by other relevant associations in the sector and beyond.