GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: Ukraine, Europe
SECTOR OF INTERVENTION: Employment Inclusion, Training, Self-Entrepreneurship
BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The three-year “NEXT UA” project aims to promote the creation of decent employment opportunities and support for self-entrepreneurship (SDG 8) in Ukraine (UA) in sectors affected by the digital transition, benefiting vulnerable young people and women (aged 18-35) who have been severely affected by the war in the Kyiv oblast and city, and contributing to the country’s reconstruction and modernization process.
OBJECTIVES:
- Support the socioeconomic inclusion of young people and women affected by the war by creating decent work and self-entrepreneurship opportunities, promoting their reintegration into the Ukrainian social fabric and labour market as strategies to strengthen resilience and contribute to the country’s reconstruction and modernization process.
- Promote access to quality job opportunities and support for self-entrepreneurship in the digital technology sector for young people and women affected by the war in the Kyiv oblast and city. This is achieved through the development of integrated empowerment, job-training, and incubation programs that can foster their reintegration into the labour market and social integration, including by promoting entrepreneurial development opportunities and job-training-business synergies between Italy and Ukraine.
ACTIVITIES:
- Analysis and mapping of the training and professional needs of the digital technology labour market in the Kyiv Oblast and the specific psychosocial needs of the most vulnerable local communities.
- Equipping spaces and laboratories with equipment and materials to enhance and innovate the provision of psychological, physical, and professional support to beneficiaries for integration into the national/local labour market.
- Design and implementation of specialized and integrated empowerment sessions aimed at facilitating the social and professional inclusion of beneficiaries with vulnerabilities caused by the trauma of the war in the Kyiv Oblast.
- Design and implementation of specialized short-term (VET) training courses/programs in the digital technology sector in partnership with companies, institutes, and training platforms (VET) at the sectoral and regional levels.
- Definition and implementation of an incubation program for the creation of new micro-enterprises/start-ups in the digital technology sector, including the development of microcredit access systems and the development of investor networks.
- Launch of a pilot internship program within selected micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through the activation of synergies with business and stakeholder networks.
- Technical support and guidance for the presentation of innovative entrepreneurial projects for participation in UA/ITA mobility programs under the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) program for disadvantaged aspiring/new entrepreneurs.
- Creation of strategic partnerships to support and promote decent work and an entrepreneurial ecosystem through “Skills Hubs” for the integration and matching of the “training-entrepreneurship-innovation” nexus, in synergy with business clusters, public institutions, social and healthcare facilities, trade unions, employment services, universities and research institutes, and vocational education and training (VET) institutions.
- Creation and strengthening of new channels for skills acquisition, knowledge exchange, networking opportunities, and the establishment of EU/ITA-AU business partnerships through the definition and implementation of an open-source platform focused on the digital and technological innovation sector.
RESULTS:
- The offering of integrated socioeconomic inclusion and psychosocial empowerment programs is strengthened and better aligned with the labour market needs related to the technological and digital sector and the psychological, physical, and social needs of the local community in the Kyiv Oblast.
- Employment and self-employment opportunities through pilot programs of vocational training (upskilling/reskilling), work-based learning (WBL), and support for self-employment (incubation and microcredit) are expanded to benefit young people and women at risk of socioeconomic marginalization due to the war.
- The coordination and synergy capabilities between institutions, local public-private services and the ITA/UA system for training and job creation and entrepreneurial development are strengthened and better integrated to guide processes of innovation, sustainable growth and resilience of the local socioeconomic fabric.
PARTNERSHIP: Lead Partner: Progetto Sud ETS; Partners: Italian Chamber of Commerce for Ukraine (CCIPU), U4UA Foundation, Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU), Kyiv Regional Council of Trade Unions (KRCTU), Brainy Education NGO, Association of Italian Knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (ACISMOM).
PERIOD/DURATION: 2025–2028 (36 months)
DONOR: Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)
PROJECT ID: AID 013244/10/6
