KredEx inviting students on career exploration tours

KredEx is taking young people on career exploration tours to familiarise them with employers in their area. On career exploration tours, students in Years 9 to 12 will be visiting companies in eight counties.

Jarmo Liiver, Head of the Enterprise Division at KredEx, said that with this initiative KredEx wishes to also make smaller areas of Estonia more attractive for young people and to encourage young people to return to their home district upon concluding their studies. “It is not as if you must stay in the capital or a major centre to blaze a career. Indeed, the companies that are our collaboration partners provide a good example of how the most important thing is for you to be enterprising and see opportunities everywhere,” Jarmo Liiver elaborates.

Career exploration tours by KredEx offer an opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience with companies right in the midst of their daily operations. In any one county, 3 to 4 companies engaged mostly in production will be visited over the course of a day. Students will get a chance to watch production activities firsthand and, where possible, contribute with their hands on. In total, 30 companies across Estonia are participating in the project.

A call for expressions of interest is open to schools wishing to benefit from tours. Applications by classes in Years 9 to 12 for going on career exploration tours are being accepted at [email protected] until 4 November. An application should state the reasons why a tour is of interest and what the plans are for the knowledge and experience gained on the career exploration tour to be passed on or implemented in the school’s activities. From among the applications received, classes will be selected for going on career exploration tours by 10 November 2015.

Career exploration tours will be conducted at companies in Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi, Lääne-Viru, Ida-Viru, Harju, Saare and Järva Counties in the last week of November. Career exploration tours, including tour coaches, will be organised by KredEx. Career exploration tours conducted by KredEx are being funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.