Context
The growing unemployment among young adults is a major problem in Ukraine. According to a survey conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2012, 17 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds in the working population are unemployed, while the overall unemployment rate stands at eight per cent. The Ukrainian Government is actively developing measures to promote youth employment. For example, an employment act came into force in 2013 that aims to enhance the competitiveness of young people in the labour market, and encourages employers to create jobs for them. The state employment agency has also taken on the new task of promoting internships in industry for graduates of universities and vocational training institutes, within the scope of a government internship programme. However, despite the numerous legislative initiatives and the adoption of laws and regulations on youth employment, attempts to address the situation through policy have remained largely ineffective.
Objective
The employability of university graduates in Ukraine has improved.
Approach
At the request of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the entire project has been contracted directly to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. The project’s focus is on the imparting of practical knowledge and skills through three to five-month internships at German companies.
During these internships, scholarship holders gain initial practical and intercultural experience, and learn about organisational structures, modern management systems and project work. This significantly increases their chances of finding a job commensurate with their qualifications in their home country.
The internships are at German companies operating in sectors that play a key role in Ukraine’s economic development, such as agriculture, mechanical and plant engineering, heavy industries, IT and the energy and mining sector. The programme is advertised at Ukrainian universities. A multistage selection process takes place, with interviews in Lviv in western Ukraine, Kyiv in central Ukraine and Dnjepopetrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Care is taken to ensure an equal balance of male and female applicants in the selection process. Successful candidates are prepared for their internship through the provision of organisational support, German language courses and induction events.
Following their internships, the young people receive support in seeking an appropriately paid job in a field that matches their qualifications. Together with its cooperation partners, the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations is developing a series of activities designed to help place alumni with local companies. In addition, after the internship the programme organises events at which alumni and companies can meet. These activities increase the chances of alumni finding a suitable job at a local company after they have completed the internship programme.
An active alumni network also enables scholarship holders to remain in touch with each other after they return home. This allows them to establish long-term professional and private contacts, and also fosters contact between the Ukrainian regions.
The internships provide programme participants with highly valuable further training in the form of practical, international experience. This substantially increases their employability. The Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations is setting up an alumni network in close coordination with UCCI, and is examining the best way of integrating it into the existing alumni network run by the manager training programme, which is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Alumni events such as seminars and workshops further encourage interns to remain in contact with each other. Representatives from the business community, politics and civil society are also included in the discussions. The alumni act as multipliers, demonstrating the importance of internships for students, and are role models for cooperation between citizens from different Ukrainian regions in a spirit of friendship.
The candidates for the 2015 intake were shortlisted for interview in mid-February 2015.