Due to the circumstances surrounding the merger of Troms and Finnmark County Council, a significant portion of the external work of the county municipality was put on hold from 2019 until the merger was finalized in 2020. After a few months post-merger, Troms, Norway, and the world at large found themselves in a lockdown due to Covid-19, further leading to a deprioritization of the external work. Unfortunately, Erasmus+ and the ongoing project suffered as a result. However, post-pandemic, we managed to resurrect Erasmus+ and, through Kvaløya Upper Secondary School's participation in a KA2 project, we have been able to establish a strong relationship with a secondary school in the Netherlands, Koning Willem I College in 's-Hertogenbosch.
The background for the project lies in Troms' pivotal role in the Norwegian government's Arctic region initiative. With a strong emphasis on international collaboration as part of this initive, the need to bolster vocational competence and motivation among youth in the region is recognized. The increasing demand for skilled workforce, especially within fields like technology, industry, construction, and electrical trades, further underscores the project's relevance. The objective is to enhance the completion of vocational education, foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students, and establish a robust foundation for Arctic region initiatives and international partnerships. Through increased collaboration and knowledge sharing, including mobility for students and staff, the project seeks to ensure education quality and smooth transitions. The project also focuses on motivating students throughout their academic and practical training periods, while strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship through international experiences. This contributes to recruiting more students into vocational education, thus addressing the region's challenge of acquiring the right skillset.