Member Article

North East firms build Lithuanian bridges

A recent trade mission to Lithuanian has proved to be ticket to new markets for a number of North East businesses looking to broaden their international horizons.

Backed by UKTI, a nine-strong party from the region visited the country earlier this month including a trip to the British Embassy in the capital, Vilnius.

Newcastle-based Tyn Can Learning are now putting together an English language experience for a travel company in Vilnius and Marine Forensices Ltd are set to open an office in the city in December.

Lissa Balmer, UK Trade & Investment’s International Trade Adviser who led the delegation, said: “It’s fantastic news and we’re thrilled that the market visit has been so rewarding. We know Lithuania offers a lot of potential and we worked hard to identify potential clients for the companies that joined us on the visit.

“We’re delighted that our efforts and the hard work and commitment from the companies themselves have paid dividends and the positive feedback we’ve had from the delegates has been fantastic. It clearly illustrates that taking part in a market visit is worth the investment in both time and resources.”

Others on the trip included Graeme Jordan, a professional marketer and CV writer who runs Graeme Jordan CV in Newcastle and was keen to establish a Lithuanian presence prior to the trip.

He said: “My aim was to identify high quality recruiters who are serious about their level of service to candidates and are open to doing things in a slightly different way. I saw an opportunity to add something extra to what they do, but it requires mutual trust and there’s no substitute for face-to-face contact when developing that trust.

“I am very happy with the results of the market visit. I didn’t need to see a lot of companies, I just needed to choose wisely and make each meeting count. I’m now in regular contact with two recruitment companies and have already done my first CV for one of their candidates, with more on the way.”

Andrew Bowen, Group CEO, E-achieve Ltd, Newcastle, one of North East and Yorkshire employability providers that is supporting youth into employment, was also on the trip.

He added: “The reason for the visit was to explore best practice of youth into work and also opportunities of working together with partners in Lithuania.

“The trip was very fruitful, we spoke to a Director of European Social Fund who explained there is a need to support youth into employment and we have already identified a strategic partner with a local college which would like to roll out a youth programme. The Ministry for Labour were encouraging of EU partners working together and we also had a positive meeting with the ESF Director in Lithuania who is keen to hear ideas especially in light of the European Youth Conference of the Lithuanian Presidency held September.

“We could not have visited at a better time and UKTI facilitated the meetings at a very high standard which ensured the right decision makers were readily available.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .