UNDP Jobs - 46239- Expert for Rapid Assessment of the Vouchers System

Expert for Rapid Assessment of the Vouchers System in Ukraine

Location :

Kyiv, UKRAINE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

26-May-2014

Application Deadline :

21-May-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

5 months (with up to 30 working days engagement)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

ICPN 2014/52
Project: Strengthening Ukraine's emerging modernization and innovation results

Background

Ukraine faces high unemployment rate among people of 45+ years old. Their low level of competitiveness on the labour market is explained by out-dated knowledge and skills. Vocational education establishments are, generally, not focused on the requalification of this particular labour force group, as their primary function is to train young people in a given profession.
The new Law on Employment approved last year envisaged innovative approaches to providing employment services to the population of Ukraine, including, among others, issuing vouchers for requalification of people of 45+ years old who are not able to find a job. The vouchers are financed by the social fund on unemployment insurance.
The State Employment service of Ukraine, represented throughout the country by more than 630 centres and around 15,500 staff, is the key state institution, which is directly serving the needs of unemployed people and employers. Its key function is to match labour demand and supply, by providing a wide range of free of charge services to citizens to facilitate their insertion/re-insertion in the labour market, and working with employers to fulfil their labour requirements. The implementation of the Requalification Vouchers System is the responsibility of this state service.
At present, the Service faces difficulties with the introduction of this requalification instrument as
1. vouchers are not matched with targeted and flexible, short-term programs for training/retraining for this particular age group;
2. the link between requalification and job opportunities is missing
3. generally, the lack of coordination/interaction between State Employment Service, Ministry of education, educational institutions constraints the design and implementation of training and requalification programmes meeting the changing needs of the labour market;
The State Employment services of Ukraine (SES) have approached UNDP with the request to carry out a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Requalification Vouchers System and to identify, on the basis of European best practices, measures/approaches to improve the targeting and effectiveness of this system for people of 45+. In the context of this Rapid Assessment, possible gender discrimination issues should also be reviewed and analyzed, and recommendations provided to eliminate this bias.