Starting February 2022, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees began settling in the Baltic Sea Region which posed a sudden challenge for hosting countries. This influx created significant challenges for employment support services. Relevant institutions lacked the knowledge to connect refugees to local labour markets, they also faced challenges in establishing networks with public administrations in this field. At the same time, all host countries reported a lack of skilled labour. Companies needed workforce and refugees needed a perspective.  

The aim of the BSR Prosper project was to bridge these two challenges through three key measures: Network Building, Capacity Building and displaying relevant information in an easy to access mobile application. The need to align employers, represented by business support organisations, with public institutions and NGOs was addressed. Most BSOs in the Baltic Sea Region had not worked in this field at all so far. Careful coordination between stakeholders and establishing adaptable solutions were key to addressing this pressing challenge.  

Effective employment placement assistance to Ukrainian refugees involved developing and testing a capacity-building training for Business Support Organisation employees. This training aimed to equip them to support refugees in entering the labour market and help companies in integrating them effectively. Our project served not only to help resolve job placement concerns for refugees but also served as a means to mitigate labour shortages in the Baltic Sea region. 

We trained staff from business support organisations in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and raised awareness in 45 institutions from 8 countries. Memorandums of Understanding were signed with multiple stakeholders, such as chambers of commerce, ministries, NGOs, state revenue services, welfare associations, diversity development groups, innovation centres, charities, and municipality and city representatives, to make refugee integration in the labour market a shared mission. Through this, we set the grounds for long-lasting networks and sustainable collaboration.  

We raised the awareness of business support organisations and their role in connecting the needs of their member companies and the needs of the refugees via public institutions and NGOs. This laid the path for a strong competitive labour market in which refugees can contribute meaningfully to the economy and in which host communities can benefit from their skills and abilities.  

With support from Interreg BSR, this project facilitated refugee integration through establishing institutional partnerships and conveyed how cooperation can effectively build a future that connects diverse partners, embraces diversity, and ensures meaningful job opportunities.