Launched: April 2026
The challenge
Relative to Lithuania's national average, the rural Eastern region experiences more pronounced population decline, demographic ageing, and a ‘brain drain’ due to the migration of young and highly skilled individuals to larger urban centres, which offer wages approximately 30–40% higher than those in regional areas. This is caused by a combination of low wages and low-quality jobs, which reduce incentives for young people and skilled professionals to remain in the region.
As a result, the region is suffering a steeper population decline than the rest of Lithuania: Lithuania’s population has decreased by between 7-8 % over the last decade, while for several municipalities in Eastern Lithuania population decline has been around 12-15 %(Satistics Lithuania (2024). Population and migration statistics. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/ ).
This means areas with high population densities in Eastern Lithuania act as economic and service hubs for the surrounding rural areas, whilst rural populations face labour shortages, skills mismatches and growing challenges in maintaining accessible services and training opportunities.
The ambition
Based in Eastern Lithuania’s Utena and Vilnius regions, the ‘Eastern Lithuania Skills Partnership’ is a Pact for Skills Regional Skills Partnership (RSP) that aims to strengthen regional cooperation in skills development, upskilling and reskilling.
To boost productivity, the RSP aspires to:
- strengthen the regional skills ecosystem and support the transition towards a more resilient, innovative and competitive regional economy;
- create a coordinated regional approach to skills development;
- improve skills supply, strengthen VET systems;
- promote lifelong learning opportunities;
- improve workforce qualifications and strengthenbusiness-education provider cooperation for create high-quality and attractive jobs;
- champion inclusion and workforce reintegration initiatives, fostering more resilient and thriving communities.
The commitments
The Eastern Lithuania Regional Skills Partnership has committed to a set of key actions that will give people the resources and skills they need to stay and thrive in the region.
The RSP will promote cooperation between employers, education and training providers to improve upskilling and reskilling, strengthen curricula and practical training, and better align provision with labour market needs.
It will expand cooperation across Eastern Lithuania and encourage public and private investment to strengthen the regional skills ecosystem and access to training. By supporting the use and exchange of labour market information, the partnership will improve regional skills intelligence and evidence-based decision-making.
The impact
By 2030, the RSP aims to:
- have 20 member organisations involved in multi- stakeholder initiatives;
- develop or strengthen 10 partnerships that are informed by data analysis and advanced forecasting techniques;
- create four targeted outreach campaigns and events to better target and engage employers, youth and the community;
- conduct 16 joint meetings and workshops organised between partnership members;
- review or improve 90% of partner institutions’ training programmes to align them with regional development priorities and labour market needs;
- create 300 new apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning;
- mobilise EUR 1 000 000 in investment for skills development initiatives (EU, national, regional or private).
View the document below to learn more about the Eastern Lithuania Skills Partnership.
