Supporting Skills For SMEs

Economic reforms have helped make Lithuania an attractive place to do business and foster an innovative environment for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Assisting businesses to reach new markets and boost exports, which account for one third of the country’s GDP, is the focus of the Export Academy, an initiative of the national business development agency, Enterprise Lithuania.

The Export Academy training programme has been recognised by the European Training Foundation (ETF) as an example of good practice in skills development to support the internationalisation of SMEs in its partner countries surrounding the European Union. This is a key pillar of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA).

Jurgita Butkeviciene, Director of Enterprise Lithuania, says learning and training is essential to support national export growth. ‘Companies should know how to meet partners, how to produce good products and set the right price. We need to provide training that is new and exciting and we need to provide experience - for us it’s a recipe for the future!’

The Export Academy’s lead trainer, Julian Lawson Hill from Giraffe Consulting, designs and delivers the learning programme, which covers market-entry strategy, distribution channels and effective marketing. ‘They (participants) end up with an export-action plan, which can be put into practice. It provides a practical basis from which to take their businesses forward.’

‘This course has been very useful for my everyday work,’ says Reda Liaucyte, Project Manager at Novameta, a professional kitchen equipment company. Prakseda Balkeviciute, Head of Marketing at Pusku Pusku, a leading beanbag manufacturer, says she gained professional export management skills. ‘After the training I had a lot of job offers!’ Justinas Bielskis, Sales Manager at Stansefabrikken Automotive, which specialises in automatic welding, is more confident at business and sales meetings. ‘I was successful in closing a business deal worth €2 million, which is a pretty good result!’

Growing through good practice

Identifying and recognising good practice helps policymakers, business and training providers share knowledge and know-how, prompting further development. To support this, the ETF launched two new good practice calls, covering training for the internationalisation of SMEs and entrepreneurial learning as a key competence. Along with women’s and youth entrepreneurship, these areas form the human capital dimension of the SBA.

For more information, visit the ETF’s YouTube channel here.

Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day

Those enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons, are the backbone of most economies worldwide and play a key role in developing countries. The United Nation’s Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day recognises the important role they play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

More info: http://www.un.org/en/events/smallbusinessday/

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