The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT) has established a program to train up to 20 specialty food & beverage packaging professionals from Eurasia. SABIT provides trainees the opportunity to become familiar with a U.S. industry sector and its regulations, make contacts to establish valuable business relationships, learn about innovative technologies, equipment, and services, and understand market-based business concepts.
The program is opened for participants from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Candidates must be in position of a significant decision making responsibility and have at least three years of industry experience.
Knowledge of English language is not required to participate in this program.
The program dates are June 11 – July 3, 2018.The deadline for submitting applications is April 6.
This year’s program is designed for professionals in the specialty food and beverage industry. Applications will be accepted from producers and companies that package:
- Cheese and Dairy Products;
- Jams, Preserves and Honeys
- Condiments and Sauces;
- Fruit and Nuts;
- Chocolate and Confections;
- Snacks and Crackers;
- Plant-based Substitutes;
- Fermented/Pickled Items;
- Vegan products;
- Gluten Free products;
- Artesian Waters;
- Carbonated Beverages;
- Oils and Vinegars;
- Meal Replacement Drinks and Shakes;
The program will be 3 weeks in length, including attendance at a major specialty food and beverage industry conference (https://www.specialtyfood.com/shows-events/summer-fancy-food-show/) . The training includes sessions on policy, legislation, business skills, business plan development, cross-cultural negotiations and management for global business. This will be complemented by site visits and meetings with a cross-section of U.S. companies in the specialty food & beverage industry and supporting industry associations.
SABIT covers expenses related to travel from Kyiv, Moscow or Istanbul to Washington and back, accommodation, medical insurance and provides small stipendium. Successful candidates should cover visa fee, travel expenses from their home town to Kyiv/Moscow/Istanbul and back home as well as meal expenses.
To apply for this program, a participant should fill in application form, prepare letter of recommendation, copy of the first page (bio page) of international passport and send all three documents in one pdf. file to the following e-mail address: Nataliia.shknyeyeva@trade.gov and Sabit@trade.gov before the program deadline.
Application form (PDF 587 KB) for this training is attached and also available at the SABIT web-page: http://www.sabitprogram.org/index.php?option=calendar&Itemid=73
For more information about the SABIT and their calendar of programs please visit the website: http://www.sabitprogram.org/
