Southwest Finland is currently facing unique challenges in the economic life. The positive structural change due to the strong development of Turku shipyard and automobile factory in Uusikaupunki has major effects on the labour market of the region. Companies are recruiting new personnel and the demand of qualified work force exceeds the supply.

The main objective of this project is to build a Foresight Academy in the Southwest Finland based on the strong existing networks between the educational institutions, regional authorities and business life. With Foresight Academy the consortium aims to develop a new, systematic regional co-operation model in order to be better prepared for growth or regression phases in the crucial industries.

The central aims of the Foresight Academy are:

• to develop the foresight skills and knowledge of the companies and educational institutions in the region
• to improve the systematic ways of collecting, sharing, analyzing and utilizing foresight data as joint actions of the region
• to build and maintain the open data bank in Kumppanuusfoorumi.fi and reinforce the co-production and availability of the foresight data.

This project builds the co-operation model, the structure and work processes for the regional Foresight Academy. As the marine and metal industries form the base in the region’s economic life, the model of Foresight Academy will be developed and piloted first with marine industry and manufacturing industry.