ArcticSkills (KO4035)

Access to sufficient and adequate vocational competence is a long term and fundamental problem for the sparsely populated Northern regions. Businesses and enterprises, and their organizations, have been monitoring this problem for a long time, and addressed it to political authorities in various forms. The link between low recruitment, graduation rate and lack of labour force, is self-evident, and rooted in the low status and popularity of vocational skills among young people. Cooperation between colleges, enterprises, labour market organizations and career advisers is needed to meet this challenge.
ArcticSkills project aims at improvement of the current situation and increase of visibility, status and pride for vocational education in the cross-border areas between Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia. The project partners share a strong belief that a competition in vocational skills between students and apprentices can contribute to increase the status of vocational education. Project activities range from international competitions and conferences to cross-border exchange of students and apprentices, practice in enterprises and signing of cooperation agreements between business companies and educational institutions. By using the competition as a platform for dialogue between businesses, schools and politicians, the project intends to reach its goals.