Rokiškis Business Club will represent Lithuania in an entrepreneurship competition in Budapest
The project “Rokiškis Engineering Class” initiated by Rokiškis Business Club has won the national selection of the European Entreprise Promotion Awards. It will represent Lithuania in the final round of the competition in Budapest. This entrepreneurship project, which will compete against other European entrants, is aimed at motivating young people to acquire an engineering education and return to work in their home region, thus, reducing the shortage of specialists in business in Rokiškis District.
“Today’s investment in youth entrepreneurship is the foundation of tomorrow’s Lithuanian economy. Studies show that 1 Euro invested in entrepreneurship education returns 45 Euros back to the State. So we encourage the emergence and development of projects to boost youth entrepreneurship. They will not only help to create jobs for promising people, but also to improve regional competitiveness, as local businesses need young and skilled talent,” said Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
The project “Rokiškis Engineering Class”, which won the national selection, was launched three years ago. After assessing the business environment in Rokiškis region, Rokiškis Business Club took action to address the lack of engineers in the region. This has led to the creation of a long-term instrument, i.e. Rokiškis Engineering Experimental Class. It has helped to retain young Rokiškis citizens and attract talent from the surrounding regions to Rokiškis District Municipality.
“Rokiškis Business Club project has enabled young people to plan their career path in a sustainable way. It has inspired other Lithuanian cities to create similar engineering classes. Under this project, such classes have already been established in Biržai, Pasvalys, Jonava, Plungė, Joniškis, Šakiai, Akmenė, Mažeikiai and Zarasai. In the future, other regions of Lithuania are planning to follow in the footsteps of Rokiškis Business Club,” says the Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ieva Valeškaitė.
The project of Rokiškis Business Club will be implemented in the following year. Rokiškis Club will compete in the final round of the 2024 European Enterprise Promotion Awards in Budapest, Hungary, on 18-20 November 2024.
The European Entreprise Awards are organised by the European Commission and the national selection is carried out by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation. The awards have been running since 2005.