Experienced export coaches turn theoretical knowledge into a practical export business plan and prepare participants for meeting with potential customers.
ITM Worldwide Concept is a vocational training program in trade, designed to build export competences of SMEs, providing expertise, knowledge and networks needed to help business grow internationally. It offers academic and practical training in a total of 14 days in 6 months. The program has three steps:
1. preparing for export: seminars in trade regulations, international market research, export coaching to implement an export business plan, focusing on export strategy
2. preparing for the market: export sales training and joint international seminars abroad, together with participants from other countries to enlarge the international network of colleagues and trade experts, seminars in cross-culture, managing change and international trade marketing
3.business meetings with potential customers, resulting in exportation
ITM concept is offered in partnership with ministries and trade councils worldwide. SPIRIT Slovenia is a local partner, and recruits participants (between 25 - 40 yrs. old employees,priority SMEs with min 5 employees and 10-35 % export in previous year, consulting companies not eligible,), arranges local seminars in trade regulations and ITM Worldwide delivers the trade training locally and abroad. Participants are invited to apply through annual invitations published by SPIRIT Slovenia. Practice is organised under Programme for internationalisation 2015 – 2020 and its Action plans 2015-2016 and 2017-2017, and is in line with Priority Axis 3 of OP.
Resources needed
The allocated budget for GP is 150.000 EUR, of which per participant 7000 EUR. The budget covers the costs of ITM and mentors within SPIRIT but does not include the 1000 EUR for seminar abroad to be beard by SME. In addition, the SME has to deposit 960 EUR for participation.
Evidence of success
ITM Worldwide has trained more than 1500 export managers and trainees in 27 countries in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean since 1994.
Since 2006, 131 export trainees finished training in Slovenia (annual target for 2015 – 2020 is 15 trainees, 1 per company). First four generation companies show excellent results in international trade: in three to five years after participation in the program, 35 companies entered 63 new markets and increased their export on average for 40 %.
Potential for learning or transfer
The training programme (methodology, training material, trainers) can be adopted to any national/regional situation.
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Tags: Trade, International, Market, Study visit, Learning, Internationalisation
