How can entrepreneurs promote education in Estonia?

Tomorrow’s Estonia is created by our schools and teachers. Education is Estonia’s strength, on which both our social well-being and Estonia’s future economic success directly depend. This is why education is an area that is close to the hearts of all of us, and where the private sector could contribute alongside the public sector.

Education is our future and the foundation of our competitiveness, both for Estonia as a whole and for the sustainability of businesses more specifically. There has been a great deal of public debate about the problems in education, but there is a perception that only the public sector should be moving towards solutions. I believe that entrepreneurs can also make an important contribution here.

It is clear that the education sector needs solid investment, which only the state can provide. In recent years, much has been invested in the construction of school buildings, and indeed a very inspiring environment for education has been created in the new buildings. Schools are increasingly taking on the role of community centres, and inclusion is a very welcome and good trend. It’s also good to see the diversity of teaching resources, which provides schools with the opportunity to choose the ones that suit them best and thus diversify the world of education.

Estonia has the potential to further develop its strong education system, but this requires courage and thinking out of the box. For LHV, supporting education has always been important, and valuing teachers is part of our long-term plan. This is why for several years now we have been giving a boost to various educational projects, such as Lae End or Rakett69. Our aim is to support education from different perspectives.

One of the key focuses for LHV is providing development opportunities for students: for example, we have supported initiatives such as Solaride, Rakett69 and Kood/Jõhvi to ensure the next generation of science and technology talents. We also believe in the potential of young talents to steer the banking of the future. We have been offering traineeships to students in various fields for years, and many of our current specialists and leaders have started as trainees.

Another area that is extremely important for us is valuing teachers. We’re one of the six founders of the programme Lae End – rewarding primary school physics and chemistry teachers with extra salary and knowledge to make teaching science more cool and engaging. We also support the Haridustreff festival, which focuses on educational innovation, where educators will be able to share valuable ideas and listen to advice from Estonia’s top trainers.

One clear area where entrepreneurs can still contribute is valuing teachers through scholarships and rewards. For example, we will be rewarding the teacher who has had the biggest impact on the winner of the Rakett 69 season, as well as awarding scholarships to an innovative teacher and a brave school at Haridustreff. Alongside this, we can also offer teachers home loans on better terms and support the creation of savings habits – we’ll be having a prize draw and giving away € 1,500 to two teachers every month until the end of the year, and another € 200 in Savings Account start-up money to two more teachers. You can sign up for the campaign at lhv.ee/teacher.

There are many different ways to support education, so I encourage other companies to think in this respect and to take a bold approach. Together we can go further!