SMEREC PROJECT

SMErec project aims at promoting the competitiveness of Finnish companies located in two different economic regions during the current technological reform. To achieve this goal, the purpose is to develop indicators supporting a company’s human resources strategies as well as other tools to be applied during a recruitment process. The goal is to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) both science-based and practice-based innovative selection methods used as a recruiting tool. The ultimate objective is to make recruitment successful.

The competitiveness and uniqueness of the solutions developed in form of tools during the project is based on the novelty value, since no similar systems are known to be used by educational institutions or other communities with as large an amount of highly educated labour.

The transnational cooperation in the SMErec project is strongly characterised by the practise- based nature of cooperation. In practice, the cooperation is implemented by those employees who are engaged in similar duties in their own work in Southwest Finland, North Karelia and other project countries. This provides an opportunity to have the best spread of good practices and ideas from country to country and from area to area.

As a result, the recruitment expertise in the companies involved in the project will be enhanced, new digital tools will be acquired to be used by companies as help in their recruitment processes, and the attractiveness of the companies as employers will increase as well as potential applicants’ awareness of these companies.

During the project, Karelia UAS will develop a new type of technological competence for the career guidance of students, and the students and companies will gain experience and courage to take advantage of digitality during the recruitment process.

As a result of the Turku UAS subproject, all students of Turku UAS will be provided with a web- based competence platform including a database for creating one’s virtual CV.

As a result of the JOSEK Ltd subproject, information on the prerequisites of companies in various fields of expertise to grow will be gathered and competence-based views of the recruitment process will be acquired. In addition, the content and functionality of the digital tool for recruitment will be developed.

The goal is to have the digital tools developed during the project to be used as part of national and international employment services (e.g. Yritys-Suomi, EURES). Then, the new, innovative digital tools could be utilised regardless of time and place.