Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission has offered guidance to help Ukrainian refugees in the EU find work in the bloc.
The body pointed out in a statement on Tuesday that more than 7 million Ukrainians fled to the EU since the start of the war and observed that only a small proportion started working here.
The Commission noted that it expects more Ukrainians to seek jobs and pointed out that integration is necessary for refugees and host communities, stressing that people who fled the war should develop their skills and eventually return to Ukraine to rebuild the country.
The body added that honing one’s skills and developing new ones is necessary for successful participation in the labour market.
In its guidance, the EC describes the measures that EU member states can implement to help refugees integrate into the labour market and facilitate their access to adult learning and vocational training.
The body pointed out that EU member states should “provide information on the support available to people fleeing Russia’s war against Ukraine, such as career guidance, counselling and protection against discrimination.”
Employment to be encouraged
It added that EU countries should encourage refugees to register for employment and pointed out that particular attention should be paid to labour market access for women.
National authorities should support employers who hire refugees, the EC noted, as well as allocate funds for launching start-ups and launch entrepreneurship support programmes.
The body stressed the importance of recognising refugees’ skills as soon as possible and providing opportunities to develop new skills, which requires coordination between social partners.
The Commission pointed out that it provided several tools in Ukrainian to help refugees test their skills, create CVs and look for jobs, among other.
The body noted that member states can use EU funds to help refugees integrate, including funding from the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF) and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
The EC concluded that EU member states should continue to support Ukrainian refugees and reiterated that they should help them integrate into the labour market.