Solidarity with Ukraine: EU takes new steps to provide certainty and access to employment to beneficiaries of Temporary Protection

The Commission announced a series of measures to continue supporting those fleeing the unprovoked Russian aggression.

A new online job-search tool launched today will help people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to successfully find a job in the European Union. After registering with the EU Talent Pool pilot initiative, those under temporary protection can upload their CVs, so that their profiles are available to more than 4,000 employers, national public employment services and private employment agencies. Ensuring a swift and effective integration into the labour market is important both for host communities, and for those fleeing the war to rebuild their lives.

Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “The EU Talent Pool pilot demonstrates our continued solidarity with Ukraine. Not just in words, but with action. It is a tragedy that millions of people have been forced to flee their homes. It is our collective duty to provide as much support as we can to help them make a life for themselves in the EU. Finding a quality job means financial independence and it puts you on the path for better social integration.”

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: “From the first week of war the EU has granted immediate protection to those in need. Thanks to EU Temporary Protection, those same people arriving in the EU have access to the labour market. The talent pool makes access to the labour market easier. Our aim is to ensure that Ukrainians can continue to benefit from the Temporary Protection Directive, which I believe should continue to apply at least until March 2024. We also stand ready to support those who decide to go home to Ukraine and they can rely on us if they decide to come back to the EU. This week, I will discuss all these matters with Ministers in the upcoming JHA Council.”

The Executive Director of the European Labour Authority, Cosmin Boiangiu, said: “The EURES portal and network are a powerful instrument to match employers and jobseekers across Europe. There could not be a better European tool to deliver the Talent Pool pilot on such short notice, and facilitate the labour integration of Ukrainians seeking temporary protection and shelter in the EU.”

In its 2022 Communication on attracting skills and talent to the EU, the Commission proposed to launch an EU Talent Pool pilot to identify and map the skills of people that have fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to facilitate their matching with EU employers and their labour market integration. This project is a joint initiative of the Commission and the European Labour Authority, with the continued involvement and assistance of the European Migration Network.

EU Talent Pool pilot helps to match jobseekers with employers

The EU Talent Pool pilot, available in English, Ukrainian and Russian, is implemented through the EURES portal, a job-searching portal managed by the European Labour Authority. It brings together national employment services, private employment agencies and employers across the EU. EURES contains over 3 million job vacancies and 4,000 employers, and new employers are welcome to sign up to it. The EU Talent Pool pilot is open to all jobseekers who benefit from temporary protection under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, or adequate protection under national law providing them the right to work. For Member States, participation in the EU Talent Pool pilot is voluntary.

After registration, the tool guides jobseekers through a process where they can identify the skills they have and upload their CV. The CVs published in the EU Talent Pool pilot will be visible to public employment services in all participating countries as well as to registered employers in all countries who are part of the European cooperation network of employment services (EURES). Jobseekers can also browse through all job vacancies published on the EURES portal.

Next steps

As indicated in the recently adopted migration report, the Commission will make full use of the provisions of the temporary protection directive and will foresee the extension of the protection afforded to those who fled Ukraine by one year, until March 2024. This will be now discussed with Member States.

At the same time, the Commission is working through the Solidarity Platform to provide guidance and solutions to ensure that those who go back de-register or notify the competent authorities safe in the knowledge that they can re-enter the EU easily and access their rights that temporary protection affords.

The pilot project launched today will build into a wider EU Talent Pool as proposed in the Skills and Talent package. The EU Talent Pool is one of the key deliverables of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum which aims at to attracting talent to the EU and support integration in local communities.

Background

In her 2022 State of the Union address, Commission President von der Leyen, proposed to make 2023 the European Year of Skills. As one of its elements, the President mentioned the need to speed up and facilitate the recognition of qualifications also of third country nationals.

The EU stands in full solidarity with Ukraine and those fleeing Russia’s war of aggression. For the first time in the EU’s history, the Temporary Protection Directive was activated unanimously by all EU countries. It grants beneficiaries with the residency rights and access to housing, schools, healthcare and jobs.

The Communication on ‘Welcoming those fleeing the war in Ukraine’ from 23 March 2022 encouraged Member States to extend access to the EU labour market to beneficiaries of adequate protection under national law. The Commission’s Guidance for access to the labour market, vocational education and adult learning of people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from 14 June 2022 describes measures that Member States can take to integrate people arriving from Ukraine into the labour market and support their access to vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning. It underlines that people with temporary protection should be able to engage in employed or self-employed activities, as well as vocational training and should also enjoy equal treatment with workers in the Member States, in terms of pay and other conditions.

The Commission has also made a number of tools available in Ukrainian under the Europass platform. This will help Ukrainian-speaking users create CVs, test their digital skills, send applications and find job and training offers in the EU.