BTP

Vocational training systems traditionally supply only the local market, and only a limited number of vocational graduates take the opportunity to work abroad. Cross-border entrepreneurship and interaction among small and medium-sized enterprises are poorly developed in the region.

The project Baltic Training Programme provided international knowledge, experiences and contacts for vocational schools and companies in Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. By doing this, the project improved the status of vocational training and helped to increase labour mobility in the region.

BTP supported students in vocational education and training (VET) to develop their business ideas with companies abroad. It also supported VET providers in their internationalisation of education and training activities. BTP tested a model where students and their co-operation ideas were matched with host-companies in another country. The activities included internships at companies in the programme area. BTP also organised stakeholder seminars for target groups such as VET providers, companies, politicians and civil servants.

A Baltic training programme for vocational students

The training programme developed and tested by the project BTP enables students to improve their skills in cross-border entrepreneurship and in the long run to do business in the Central Baltic region. 

The training, carried out as modules in the participating countries, also included lectures about the history and culture of the region, and first and foremost, students working on joint projects with their host companies. BTP acted as a model for similar projects now being implemented elsewhere in the Baltic Sea region as a part of a flagship project within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).