Prosper BSR

The current wave of refugees from Ukraine is a major and sudden challenge, especially for the countries of the Baltic Sea region. However, this should not be seen as a burden on countries, but rather as an opportunity. Due to demographic changes, all countries in the Baltic Sea region complain of a huge shortage of skilled workers in almost all sectors. Successful integration of refugees into the labor market not only relieves the burden on social systems, but also restores a sense of dignity and perspective to people who have been forced to leave their homes. Effective integration of refugees and immigrants makes society fundamentally more resilient to future challenges.

Successful integration of refugees can only happen if the relevant institutions take on this important task, including business support organizations that act as intermediaries between entrepreneurs and government agencies. In Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, business support organizations need to improve their institutional knowledge of how to integrate refugees and immigrants into the local labor market and how to develop local cooperation networks with stakeholders in this area.

To address this problem, three measures will be implemented within the framework of the project:

1. Cooperation network: establishment of a stable cooperation network for the integration of refugees into the labor market.
2. Knowledge development: strengthening business support organizations by improving employee qualifications.
3. Digitization: creating an app and sharing it with other countries in the Baltic Sea region.