A group of Ukrainian FDI trainees visited the CzechRepublic to see how the learned theory works in practice
Last week, a group of trainees of the USAID LED project-run program for foreign direct investment (FDI) professionals returned from a study tour of the Czech Republic where they had familiarized themselves with the practice of FDI attraction in this Central European country.
Evaluating the overall quality of the study tour upon its completion, the participants – over 20 in total – gave it on the average as high a score as 4.81 on a five-point scale.
"The trip was super useful," Oleksandr Dudka, director of the Rogan Industrial Park, a communal enterprise in Kharkiv, told the LED Monitor on Monday. He said it was training in marketing of a level Ukraine will need some five years to reach.
The Ukrainians arrived in Prague on January 23, and left on January 30, visiting six other cities in between: Kopřivnice, Olomouc, Brno, Louny, Žatec, and Plzeň. In each of these cities they were shown industrial sites, except for Olomouc where they paid a call on the Palacky University Science and Technology park. Typically, there were also meetings with mayors and visits to renowned companies that located their production facilities on these sites, such as Bang & Olufsen, Timken, and Hitachi. The tour wound up in a meeting with a representative from CzechInvest, the investment and business development agency of the Czech Republic.
Says Dušan Kulka, FDI Manager with the LED project:
"It was fourth such FDI group that went on the study tour of the Czech Republic, and each tour was a bit different. You see, the city mayors and company managers do us a favor receiving these groups, and we cannot go the same route over and over again. But we want to show our trainees that what we teach them really works. Luckily, the Czech Republic has been so successful in attracting FDI that still there are more industrial parks in store for next groups to visit."
"The participants had an opportunity to talk with both sides of the FDI market: cities and private real estate developers, who told the guests how they prepare and offer their products to attract new investors, and companies, which shared the reasons why they had decided to locate on some or other site," Mr. Kulka said.
Filling out the tour's feedback evaluation forms, the participants reiterated the word "experience" as one of most valuable things acquired during the trip. As Mr. Dudka put it in the interview with the LED Monitor, "I saw a lot of what I guessed existed but didn't know for sure. For example, the private developer [CTP Invest] that has built 16 industrial parks – to me it's fantastic!"
The study tour is part of the Training Program for FDI Professional, which also includes four workshops. Trainees who successfully pass final exams receive a Certificate of Accreditation issued by the USAID LED project and the Ukrainian Center for Foreign Investment Promotion (InvestUkraine).
The LED project launched the program in March 2006. It was the first step made in Ukraine toward training of FDI professionals for local governments and public administration agencies. The program was developed, and is delivered, by Ukrainian, Czech, Scottish, and US LED experts.
The program has been issuing a joint certificate with InvestUkraine since its second cycle, proving the professional level of graduates to the center's standards and fostering partnership between the LED project and InvestUkraine.