Together for the competence of the future
How do we secure the right skills in Norrbotten, now and in the future? That was the main question when Region Norrbotten brought together municipalities, education stakeholders and financiers for a joint project conference.
During the day, several projects were presented that work in different ways to provide skills in the county and in collaboration. One of them is Competence in Collaboration, where the municipalities of Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog, Malå and Sorsele collaborate by developing an education model to strengthen skills in healthcare and the transport and construction industries.
– We want to combine theoretical knowledge from educators with practical professional competence from employers. We are small municipalities that have good contact with employers in the area and are so close that we can travel to each other during the day, says Anne Enoksson, who is a business strategist in Arvidsjaur Municipality.
Anne Enoksson, business strategist, Arvidsjaur Municipality.
Culture in rural areas
Lukas Hellgren Bákttie and Angelica Larsson talked about the Nova K project, which is about improving the conditions for teachers in rural areas and ensuring that children and young people have better access to cultural activities.
– The aim is to equalize the level of competence in the cultural schools, regardless of the size of the municipality and demographics. The project involves 20 cultural schools in Norrbotten and Västerbotten, where we are exploring distance learning, among other things, says project manager Lukas Hellgren Bákttie.
Lukas Hellgren Bákttie and Angelica Larsson, the Nova K-2 project
The financing couch
Representatives from Region Norrbotten and Västerbotten, Interreg Aurora, the Swedish ESF Council and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth discussed funding opportunities and answered questions.
Common to the funders was a focus on skills provision and culture. They also highlighted the importance of collaboration, especially across county borders, to improve matching and strengthen recipient capacity.
What unites us?
Groups discussed how ongoing and upcoming projects can contribute to attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining talent in the region. Based on this, discussions were held about how collaborations can be shaped even further and what the next steps might be.
– At our table, discussions were held about how collaborations can be shaped even further and our project Competence Catalyst 1.0 will plan a study visit to learn and find out more, says Stina Karlsson, development manager for competence supply at Norrbotten municipalities.
From left: Emelie Hjelte from Luleå municipality, Elin Hollström from RISE and Stina Karlsson from Norrbotten municipalities.
Text and image: Charlotte Högnelid
Kompetensarena Norrbotten is a project that aims to manage the county's increasing skills needs as a result of the extensive industrial establishment in Norrbotten.
The project is run by Region Norrbotten in collaboration with the county's municipalities and business companies, Akademi Norr and the Lapland Municipal Association. It is funded by the European Social Fund, ESF+.
