SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern

The founding organisation of SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern, Union Helvetia – today Hotel & Gastro Union - was founded 1886 with a strong focus on the professional development of hotel employees.[4] With the boom of hotel construction in Switzerland, which was specifically aimed at tourists (between 1890 and 1914), the demand for talented and trained hotel employees also increased.[5] To meet this demand, Union Helvetia opened the SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern in 1909.[6]

The modern campus in the heart of Lucerne offers academic and practical training facilities as well as group rooms, retreats for self-study and lounge areas. SHL has several F&B outlets: The Coffee Lounge (Club), the Salt & Pepper training restaurant and Caffè Milano.

Right next to the SHL «Lakeview Campus» is the SHL Hotel, where around 80 students stay during the semesters.

• 
  The view from the terrace
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  The Coffee Lounge (Club)
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  The training restaurant «Salt & Pepper»
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  The training restaurant «Salt & Pepper»
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  Caffè Milano
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  The self-study and lounge area «Boost Zone»
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  The wine cellar
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  A room at Hotel SHL

SHL offers two main programmes:

• The Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management (taught in English or German), which is offered in cooperation with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hochschule Luzern, combines and intermeshes hotel management and business administration.[7]
• Dipl. Hotelier(e)-Gastronom(in) HF (formerly: Dipl. Hôtelière-Restauratrice / Hôtelier-Restaurateur HF), consisting of four practice-oriented semesters, two five-month industry internships and a six-month employment in a management position.[8][9]

SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern is federally recognised in accordance with the Federal Vocational Training Act and subject to supervision by the Swiss federal government and the canton of Lucerne.[10]

The Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management is accredited by the Swiss Federal Government and in compliance with the Bologna Declaration, using the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

SHL is the only hospitality management institution in Switzerland offering a programme affiliated with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne (HSLU).

Furthermore, SHL is EduQua certified. EduQua is the Swiss quality certificate for continuing education institutions, awarded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and the Swiss Association for Association for Continuing Education (SVEB).[11]

SHL maintains very close relations with the hospitality industry. The intensive cooperation is particularly evident in the following aspects:

• Through the practical internships of the students, SHL is in constant contact with the industry, its challenges and needs.
• Four times a year, national and international companies from the hospitality industry visit SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern in the context of the SHL Career Day to exchange ideas with students and recruit them for open positions.
• The business cases for the project and diploma theses come from the industry: entrepreneurs commission SHL students to develop business plans and solution-oriented concepts for their real projects.[14]
• Since 2022, SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern has been working with an international advisory board consisting of industry leaders and experts, which clearly identify needs from the industry and provide SHL with valuable input for the future development of the school.

SHL offers the «Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management” in cooperation with and awarded by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne (HSLU).[15]

In addition to the classic educational programmes, SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern offers education concepts, training programmes and consulting services in the area of «Best Customer Experience» for companies in various industries. A long-standing cooperation in this area exists with Mercedes Benz Switzerland, for which SHL developed an effective concept and sustainable training to improve the customer experience.

On the international stage, SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern is involved in development projects by being active in the conception and establishment of various industry-specific education initiatives. The aim of SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern's international involvement in industry-specific training initiatives is to transfer knowledge and skills to strengthen the hotel industry far beyond Switzerland’s borders. The focus is always on conveying high-quality hospitality expertise with the associated practice-oriented educational concepts.

Two of the projects:

• Cambodia: Establishment of the practice-oriented cooking school Academia of Culinary Arts Cambodia (ACAC) in Phnom Penh[16]
• Indonesia: Supporting the Local Office for Sustainable Tourism Education (STED) in the creation of competitive and sustainable destinations and training of skilled workers, which will contribute significantly to the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the tourism sector in Lombok / Partners: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, swisscontact[17]

• www.shl.ch