Local Employment Partnership Launched in Soroca To Contribute to Creation and Formalization of Jobs

The LEP will also organise on-the-job training in the craft sector, develop and implement training curricula in the ICT sector to increase employability and improve the practical skills of young people.

Over 1,000 inhabitants of Soroca district, including people at risk of social exclusion, will enjoy the opportunities offered by LEP, and more than 1,500 people will benefit indirectly from the results of LEP. The initiative was launched by ILO in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and Soroca District Council.

The Local Employment Partnership (LEP) is an innovation based on 'negotiated planning' among relevant local partners who undertake interlinked roles and responsibilities to develop and implement solutions to labour market challenges, tailored to local circumstances. The main aim of the LEP is job creation and the transition to formal employment. 

Attending the launch event, Anna Gherganova, Head of the Occupational and Migration Policies Directorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, said there were still gaps in the local implementation of National Labour Market Programmes and Strategies. Obviously, an important role is played by the Territorial Employment Subdivisions; however, they will not be able to increase the level of employment at the local level on their own, without the education institutions that train the specialists needed for business, without the companies that create jobs, without the LPAs that create the necessary conditions for the work of various organisations at the local level. All these actors, by joining their efforts, can contribute to identifying solutions to local labour market challenges by creating favourable conditions for job creation, integrating the inactive population into the labour market, and increasing the competitiveness of the local labour force.

In this connection, the Local Employment Partnerships contribute to promoting the right to work in decent conditions as well as solidarity of the state with citizens in need, which is one of the priorities of the Ministry. Such partnerships have already proved their effectiveness in the three Moldovan districts where they have been implemented over the last five years. Around a thousand people from Cahul, Cantemir and Căușeni districts, including vulnerable groups, have improved their living conditions or obtained a secure source of income. That is why we consider this initiative important and will continue, together with the ILO, to replicate the good practices achieved so far."

The implementation of Soroca LEP foresees the participation of about 20 national and local public and private partners, including non-governmental organisations, financial, education and training institutions, employment service, producers' associations, enterprises and investors. The LEP in Soroca district is designed and implemented under the aegis of the Territorial Commission for Collective Consultations and Bargaining (TCCCB) - a social dialogue platform that brings together representatives of local public authorities and local trade unions and employers' associations. This platform acts as a catalyst for labour market stakeholders to identify key labour market challenges and suggest concrete actions to remove obstacles to job creation and the transition from informal to formal employment.

"We are glad that together with the ILO and all national and local partners we will create opportunities for business development and job creation and thus contribute to the socio-economic development of Soroca district. At a time when we are facing several crises simultaneously, such help is more than vital," said Svetlana Păunescu, Vice-President of Soroca district.

Soroca LEP will be implemented by the end of 2023 and will cost about USD 240,000. The International Labour Organization will provide support in the amount of USD 100,000 for various lines of intervention. The National Employment Agency, the Organisation for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA) will contribute with grants made available to applicants to complement the lines of interventions oriented towards business development and small enterprise creation. The remaining amount includes non-monetary inputs in Soroca LEP from local partners.

The launch of Soroca Local Employment Partnership was preceded by a territorial audit that identified the sectors with potential for job creation, the problems faced by socially vulnerable groups in regions as well as local and national actors willing to get involved in this partnership to solve labour market problems. The paper developed serves as basis for the formulation of the seven projects foreseen by Soroca LEP.

During 2018-2019, for the first time in Moldova, the ILO piloted a LEP in Cahul district, contributing to the creation and formalization of 208 jobs, launch and development of 72 businesses, creation of two cooperatives - of honey producers and of cheese producers. More than 880 people in Cahul district, including from socially vulnerable groups, directly benefited from the opportunities offered by the project. The good practices achieved in Cahul district were later replicated in Căușeni and Cantemir districts. And another LEP will be launched this year in Rezina district.