Exciting Collaboration: Ukrainian and Estonian Members Forge Strong Partnership

On May 16, Meelis Paavel, Chairman of the Management Board of the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (EUIF), and Yulyia Zhovtyak, Director of the State Employment Service of Ukraine (SES), signed a cooperation agreement in Kiev. This agreement will guide the development and digitization of Ukraine’s employment services, following the example set by the EUIF.

With the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the SES reviewed various public employment service solutions. Ultimately, they chose Estonia to assist in digitizing Ukraine’s employment services and to develop strategies for supporting war veterans, based on EUIF’s experience with work ability reform.

Since the end of 2023, the knowledge management project has been in its final stages. Through numerous online meetings, the content of the workshops was refined to answer the question: “What practical and technical support does the SES specifically need that the EUIF can provide?”

The initial seminars took place in Kiev in mid-May, marking the start of 17 seminar days (14 in Kiev, 3 in Tallinn) involving 20 EUIF experts and additional external specialists.

Although this initiative was not initiated by WAPES, we are proud to showcase the efforts of our members. This is an exemplary practice on how to assist and engage with members facing challenging times and needing support for development.