EU launches online job-seekers tool for Ukraine refugees

BRUSSELS:

The European Commission unveiled a new online tool on Monday to help Ukrainians find a job as the bloc looks to extend its protection for those displaced by Russia's invasion for another year.

Some 4.2 million people who have arrived in the EU from Ukraine are covered by a system giving all those fleeing the conflict accommodation support, health care, education access and the right to enter the EU job market.

European home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said this system needed to be extended by at least a year until March 2024, with those returning to Ukraine allowed to retain their rights in case they needed to flee again.

The online job-search tool called the "EU Talent Pool" will allow those displaced by Russia's invasion to upload their CVs, which will be available to more than 4,000 employers, national public employment services and private employment agencies.

EU employment commissioner Nicola Schmidt told a new conference that five EU countries had joined the pilot, including Poland, which is housing the most Ukrainian refugees, and called more to join.

"For employers in the EU, who we know are facing labour shortages across many sectors and in many different skillsets, this can be an important resource which you can draw upon," he said.

The pilot job-search tool, managed by the European Labour Authority, is available i1n English, Ukrainian and Russian and linked to the EU's cooperation network of employment services with over 3 million vacancies.

Some 600,000 Ukrainians have entered the EU job market since the conflict began.