Supporting the labour market integration of Ukrainian refugees

In the face of the unprecedented refugee crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, Cedefop has refocused its work on qualifications, certification and skills intelligence to support the swift integration of people fleeing the war into the labour market and vocational education and training.

Many of the more than 5 million Ukrainian refugees who have sought shelter in Europe are expected to stay and build a new future in the European Union. The EU has acted quickly. It has updated help for displaced people entering the EU, unlocked emergency funds and made access provision to education, training and jobs for Ukrainians a priority.

Having recently investigated the potential of skills-based pathways for refugee protection, Cedefop proposes combining legal and humanitarian support with a skills-matching mechanism to relocate Ukrainian refugees across EU Member States. This approach aims to address the current legal restrictions for those applying for international protection. Cedefop supports the Commission’s efforts to develop a new EU-wide talent pool by matching refugee skills to vacant jobs while keeping the private sector informed about the new temporary protection rules introduced in March 2022.

Cedefop spearheads Europe’s skills intelligence using state-of-the-art tools to shed light on labour market trends and talent demand in the EU: its skill forecasts and foresight exercises and its real-time evidence on employer skill needs from job vacancies, supported by the innovative online tool Skills-OVATE. Its unique expertise on qualifications and credentials enables Cedefop to support the assessment and recognition of VET skills and competences obtained in the Ukraine.

Different approaches to matching skills of refugees to labour market needs in the EU include:

• a bottom-up approach driven by local labour market and employer needs in different parts of Europe – this approach will require time to put in place;
• a policy-driven approach prompted by the current urgent humanitarian crisis, possibly based on skill demand at national/government level.

Cedefop, working closely with the Commission, is ready to explore all possible opportunities for cooperation with Member States willing to engage in innovative refugee relocation initiatives that can help individuals and ease the pressure on asylum systems of those countries most challenged by large-scale refugee arrivals.

Check out Cedefop's 'Skillset and match' magazine for more in-depth VET and skills-related news and analyses. The next issue with more news on Cedefop’s proposal for the labour market integration of Ukrainian refugees will be out in late May.

Listen to Cedefop’s podcast on Jobs for refugees in the face of the Ukrainian crisis.

Interested in obtaining first-hand information from Cedefop experts on this subject? Ramona David Craescu and Ioannis Katsikis from our team are happy to talk to you and share their insight.

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