Next-Level Sales

The Next-Level Sales project will develop and deliver a nine-month training programme through cooperation between Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. The aim is to improve the employability and employment opportunities of young people aged 18–29. The target group consists particularly of final-year students and recent graduates in language-related fields who have limited employment opportunities corresponding to their educational background.

The training will provide participants with practical skills for working as Client Success Managers. The content will cover customer relationship development and customer experience, sales skills, the use of AI-based agents, and mystery shopping. The training will be carried out in close cooperation with companies, sales professionals, recruiters, and career experts. Participants will also practise job searching and job interviews and meet employers at matchmaking events.

The training programme will be delivered twice during the project, with a total of 100 participants from Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Based on the experiences gained and the training materials developed during the project, an openly accessible handbook will be produced. The handbook can be used for education and training purposes after the project has ended.

The project responds to youth unemployment and the mismatch between education and labour market needs. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence, employment opportunities have become particularly limited for final-year students and recent graduates in language-related fields. As a result, they are at risk of unemployment, long-term unemployment, or taking jobs that do not match their education and skills.

At the same time, there is a growing need in the labour market for new types of customer and sales competencies. The project is based on the recognition that graduates from language-related fields already possess valuable skills, such as strong oral and written communication skills, the ability to adapt communication to different target groups, and the ability to process and present information in different situations. However, they need additional practical skills in areas such as customer relationship development, customer experience, sales, and the use of artificial intelligence.

The current training provision does not sufficiently respond to these needs. Training provided by higher education institutions, vocational schools, and other educational organisations is still largely based on traditional sales models, and there is insufficient training focused on meeting companies’ customer needs. The project is therefore needed to bridge the gap between young people’s existing skills and the changing competence needs of the labour market, while improving their employment opportunities.

The project aims to change the way young people’s skills are matched with the needs of the labour market. Participants’ existing language and communication skills will be complemented with competencies in customer relationship development, customer experience, sales, and the skills required for Client Success Manager roles.

The project will make training practical and strongly connected to working life and real-world development activities. Companies, sales professionals, recruiters, and career experts will participate in the training, and participants will work on practical assignments and real-life company cases.

The project will also introduce new ways of working. Participants will learn to build AI-based agents that help solve business challenges and to use mystery shopping as a method for evaluating and improving customer experience.

Job seeking will be integrated into the training. Participants will practise self-presentation and job interviews, meet employers at matchmaking events, and receive individual support for their job search from career experts, mentors, and curators.

The project will also develop training materials that can be used after the project has ended. The experiences, materials, and feedback from the two training cycles will be compiled into a workbook, which will be integrated into the teaching of the partner higher education institutions and made openly available to other organisations.

The project’s impact is based on creating a better match between young people’s skills and the needs of the labour market. Participants will gain practical skills in customer-oriented development and establish direct contacts with employers, with the aim of improving their competitiveness in the labour market.

The impact will continue beyond the project period, as the handbook developed during the project will be integrated into the teaching of the partner higher education institutions and made openly available to other education and training organisations. This will enable the approaches and materials developed in the project to support the skills development and employment of new target groups in the future.

Interreg Central Baltic 2021-2027

Interreg Central Baltic