The annual Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTEC) Marketplace took place on 19 February 2025 at the Van der Valk Congress Center in Mons, Belgium. Representatives from 28 PTECs gathered to exchange expertise, forge new connections, and discuss further synergies in the key domain of military education and training. For the first time, the PTEC Marketplace was organized in close coordination with the 4th Annual Disciplines Forum, which is conducted as part of the NATO Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation (ETEE) system.
The PTEC Marketplace was opened by Mr Christophe Lhomme, Delivery Section Head, Operations Division of the NATO International Staff; Brigadier General Martin Remes, Assistant Chief of Staff of the Military Cooperation Division of the SHAPE Partnerships Directorate; Colonel Jesko Peldzus, Education and Training Plans and Programs Branch Head of HQ SACT; and Colonel Jay Smith, Commandant of the NATO School Oberammergau.
They all emphasized the fast-evolving environment, emerging security challenges, and the importance of an agile approach to adapting to new defence and security requirements.
They recognized PTEC's proactive engagement in implementing NATO's wide range of priorities, including the education and training of Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers from various partner and Allied countries, integrating gender perspectives in military operations, contributing to peace-support disciplines, fostering cultural awareness, enhancing crisis management, and developing leadership skills.
The Marketplace highlighted the PTEC community's cooperative efforts in education and training, demonstrating how the Centres contribute to addressing common security challenges. Through courses, specialized programmes, MTTs, exercises and expertise, military and civilian personnel from across the NATO network gain strong skills and knowledge. This enables them to contribute to regional confidence-building, drive innovation, and exchange ideas and best practices. Additionally, PTECs play a crucial role in operations by supporting the training of troops preparing for deployment in missions and operations.
The PTEC Marketplace provides participants with an opportunity to present and explain their education and training achievements while promoting their respective Centres. It showcases the community's collaborative efforts in education and training, emphasizing how these Centres contribute daily to tackling shared security challenges, and contribute to military and intellectual interoperability.
Finally, the 25th Military Police Training Centre of Ukraine participated in the Marketplace for the first time as a candidate to become a PTEC. The Centre is ready to provide unique experience and expertise in the crucial domain of military police training to the PTEC Community and to NATO.
