The Government offers Ukrainian women a number of programs for integration into the labor market and entrepreneurship, and is looking for partners to implement them. This was stated by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko during a meeting with UN Women Representative in Ukraine Sabine Freizer Gunes.
“Increasing the employment rate is one of the priorities for the Government. We have launched a number of programs aimed at supporting businesses and improving the situation in the labor market. Among them is a program to attract women to entrepreneurship by providing microgrants for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, and we are planning a similar program for veteran businesses. We also have several programs to promote employment and retraining of women to enhance their competitiveness in the labor market. We are preparing to support those women who will return from abroad, where they fled because of the war, and engage them in the country’s recovery. We are currently looking for partners to implement this policy,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
In particular, there are financial incentive programs for employers to hire women. Since last year, employers have been eligible to receive compensation from the state for hiring internally displaced persons. Starting this year, they will receive compensation for hiring single women with children.
“Women with entrepreneurial talent can take a microgrant of up to UAH 250,000 to start or develop a business under the Own Business program. Last year, more than 6,000 women applied for microgrants, and almost 1,500 of them received such financial support from the state. 49% of successful grant applications last year came from women. In the near future, we plan to expand this program and enable wives of veterans to take a grant for twice the amount to develop their family businesses,” said Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezhna.
In addition, women can take advantage of retraining programs to get a more demanded specialty in the labor market. In particular, a new grant program called Start in IT will be launched in April, which will allow women to receive a grant for training in the field of information technology. Retraining programs are available at the Vocational Education Centers of the State Employment Service, and one can also get a voucher for retraining.
Background
UN Women has been working in Ukraine since 2015, and the organization’s office in the country was opened in 2018. Currently, its scope of activities in Ukraine includes the provision of targeted assistance to national partners in three thematic areas defined in the current Strategic Note (2018-2022): Women, Peace and Security; Ending Violence against Women and Girls; and Governance, Leadership and Participation.
Source: www.me.gov.ua
