A Platform for Discussion dedicated to Employment Was Launched in the Republic of Moldova

The event was organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Agency and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The future objective of the conference is to launch a productive platform for discussion on employment issues.

“The year 2016 was remarkable for many local, regional and global initiatives with expected effects on economic growth, including employment and decent work.  During this year a lot of space and attention was given to employment policies, since the Republic of Moldova engaged to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth. To reach this objective, public discussions and joint efforts are needed. Particularly, for this reason we met today to launch this platform for discussion and to draw the attention on labour market deficiencies in order to speed up the actions to the benefit of every citizen of the Republic of Moldova", said Ala Lipciu, national coordinator of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In January this year, the ILO and the Republic of Moldova signed the Decent Work Country Program for 2016 - 2020.  The priorities of this program are:

1. promotion of employment and a favourable environment for sustainable enterprises; 
2. efficient social dialogue;
3. social protection and better work conditions.

“Only a well trained and qualified labour force can be competitive, because the employment policies are cross-cutting requiring the involvement of officials from the education sector.  Therefore, the priorities of the labour market policy are referring to creation of formal, non-discriminatory and productive labur opportunities, stated Raisa Scai, deputy Minister of Labour, Social Protection and Family.

"It is with the vision of a better labor market in Moldova that the Swiss Development Cooperation, UNDP and ILO, have jointly provided assistance in drafting the National Employment Strategy for 2017-2021 in a participatory and inclusive manner", noted Stefan Liller, Deputy Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme.   

There were three panels for discussion within the event:

1. employment policies, public policies and labour institutions relevance and the manner they affect the economic growth and labour market dynamics;
2. youth employment perspectives, skills and qualifications relevance, programs for transition from school to first job and youth empowerment for better labour integration;   
3. migration, a determinant phenomenon for the labour market of the RM, its benefit for local development and the role of local authorities and public services for the successful reintegration of returning migrants.