The purpose of the event was to integrate managers of foreign companies operating in West Pomerania region. The meeting on a golf course was organized by Centrum Obsługi Inwestora (Investors' Service Center) of Marshal's of Zachodniopomorskie Voivodship Office and Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce.

On 26 June a few dozens of business people from different companies, counsellors of Polish embassies in Copenhagen and Berlin Andrzej Żywień and Tomasz Salomon showed up in Binowo Park Golf Park near Szczecin. This form of meeting was chosen to encourage informal talks during the round of golf, which is one of the key touristic produts of Zachodniopomorskie Voivodship.

Before the golf challenge, Ewa Przybylska, regional executive of Manpower company in Poznań presented The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter 2009. According to the survey, 18% of Polish employers forecast increasing headcount, 9% expect it to decrease and 70% forecast no change. Based on these figures, the Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 3 2009 is +9%, indicating a cautiously optimistic hiring climate for job seekers.

„48% of Polish companies have difficulties finding the right people to fill jobs. Skilled trades, project managers nad sales representatives are the most wanted employees, 2009 Talent Shortage Survey Results shows” says Ewa Przybylska. After the Manpower resentation, three companies received membership certificates from Kaare Nordbo, regional representative of Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce.

„We have 20 members in the West Pomerania region, including these three new companies, but i know about 100 Scandinavian companies that operate here” estimates Kaare Nordbo.

„The Scandinavian market is very important for us. Although Germany is first in direct investments in our region, we provide service for Scandinavian companies almost as often as for companies from Germany” says Paweł Bartoszewski, the director of Centrum Obsługi Inwestora.

Time to play golf

Members of the meeting were divided into three groups. Advanced players played a round on the 18-hole golf course. The largest group took part in a training under a supervision of Binowo Park golf pro and played a texas scramble tournament on the 9-hole course. Journalists present on the meeting played separatedly.

The main competition won Koh Asakawa, one of the directors of Bridgestone Factory in Stargard Szczeciński with net result 58 (87 strokes gross). He received a cup from Paweł Bartoszewski and a prize - a golf bag from Krzysztof Wojtowicz, local manager of Deloitte branch in Szczecin.

Krzysztof Karpiński's team won the texas scramble competition. Karpiński, the director of the English company Vallasis branch in Białogard, also won Closest to the Pin competition. Best in the Putting Green competition was Tom Kristjansen, the director of HG Poland.

In journalists' competition Kurier Szczeciński team (Magdalena Szczepkowska/Włodzimierz Abkowicz) finished just one shot ahead of Polskie Radio Szczecin representatives: Zdzisław Tararako and Łukasz Szełemej.

mab