A public event titled “The Future of Ukraine’s Labour Market. Employment Strategy 2030” took place at the Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Centre, marking the finalisation of work on Ukraine’s Employment Strategy for the period up to 2030, along with the Operational Action Plan for its implementation in 2026–2028, at a time when labour market recovery is central to Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.
The Employment Strategy 2030 sets out a comprehensive roadmap to make Ukraine’s labour market more modern, flexible and inclusive. It focuses on job creation, support for unemployed people, skills development, and the labour market integration of internally displaced persons and Ukrainians returning from abroad. The Strategy is designed to contribute to Ukraine’s economic recovery and to expand opportunities for decent work across the country.
The Strategy is being developed by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, with the support of the Government of Germany and the assistance of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), within the framework of the REYOIN – Promotion of Socio-Economic Integration of Returnees, Internally Displaced Persons, and Host Communities in Ukraine project.
As part of its support to the Ministry of Economy, the Multi Donor Initiative (MDI) Skills4Recovery has contributed expert, practice-oriented input to the development of both the Employment Strategy 2030 and its Operational Action Plan. In particular, Skills4Recovery provided expertise on addressing labour market mismatches, developing the national qualifications system, and strengthening training, retraining and upskilling mechanisms to ensure the availability of skilled workers with relevant, up-to-date competencies.
A cross-cutting theme of the Strategy is the strengthening of partnerships between education and business in the development of professional skills, reflecting the need to better align training provision with labour market demand. This approach is expected to become a cornerstone of the Strategy’s implementation following its anticipated adoption by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the coming months. It also opens up broad opportunities for further reform support by MDI Skills4Recovery in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Employment Service, the National Qualifications Agency, and vocational education and training (VET) providers.
“The Employment Strategy 2030 creates a strong policy framework for aligning skills development with the real needs of Ukraine’s labour market. Its value lies not only in strategic direction, but in the emphasis on education–business partnerships, modern qualifications and lifelong learning as practical levers for recovery.
Skills4Recovery continue working closely with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine to support the implementation of the Strategy, with a focus on cascading the Strategy to the regions, operationalising EU-aligned approaches through concrete tools on the ground.”
— Oleksii Oleksiuk, Head of the Policy Component, Skills4Recovery
Background
The Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery is jointly co-financed by the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark. It is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).
