More businesses, jobs and tax revenues are needed to safeguard and strengthen the region’s vitality and to cover the sustainability gap in public finances. The goal of the Koillismaa 2014+ vitality programme is 1000 new jobs in Kuusamo and 300 jobs in Taivalkoski. The New Business Skills and Jobs project supports the implementation of the 2014+ programme in Koillismaa. On the other hand, there is currently not enough viable new business ideas in Koillismaa and, on the other hand, existing business ideas cannot be sufficiently transformed into profitable business. To achieve the job-place target, the turnover of the companies in the region is expected to increase by approximately EUR 200 000 000 over the same time horizon, by 2021. New jobs are created in both operating and new businesses.The project is not intended to maintain existing normal business services.The project has four main objectives:1. Creating new business ideas or discovering existing unexploited business ideas.2. Find operating models that create and develop new business ideas that are best suited to the needs of Koillismaa, thus making more efficient use of existing business service resources. In this context, business service resources refer to all entities providing business services (Naturpolis, ProAgria Oulu and Lapland, Northeastern Leader ry, research institutes and universities operating in the region, Kainuu Vocational College, Oulu Region Vocational College, North-Eastern Adult Education, other secondary education institutions, TE Office, ELY Centre, Finnvera, banks, insurance companies, expert companies, etc.)3. Channel excellence of research institutions and universities in the region to develop new innovations and business candidates.4. The aim of the project is to contribute to the implementation of the Koillismaa 2014+ vitality programmeProject Measures:- Annual organisation of entrepreneurial forums (experienced entrepreneurs tell their own entrepreneurial story and the main factors that have affected it)- Annual organisation of ideas and information sessions in Koillismaa.- With the help of regional business services and expert services acquired separately, business ideas are evaluated annually and business plans and financing plans are prepared for the most feasible.- Creating a business idea exchange and activating operations. Business idea exchange brings together the birther of the business idea and the person who implements it. A contract model will be developed between the producer and the implementer of the idea.- An annual business idea competition will be organised with series for the main target groups of the project.- A seminar/workshop will be organised every year with the research institutes and universities in the region on how to channel their excellence into the development of new innovations and business candidates.- The cooperation between the educational institution and the business services network on entrepreneurship training will be agreed on an annual basis with educational institutions operating in the region. The implementation of the horizontal principles will also be monitored in the context of the interim reporting. In order to support female entrepreneurship, cooperation with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Association is being carried out. Although the main objective of the project is not to promote gender equality in particular, the project’s implementation will pay particular attention to women’s entrepreneurship and employment.