The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, the State Employment Service, Generation of Mothers Lada CSO and the Epiprosvita NGO have launched the development of an integrated career support model “Combining and Growing” with the support of the Council of Europe. The model will support women and men who care for children, including children with disabilities, or who have taken a prolonged career break due to family responsibilities, in returning to employment.
The model will provide support from the initial consultation to employment or starting a business. It will include an assessment of professional experience, identification of training or retraining needs, development of an individual career plan, interview preparation and job matching.
The need for such support is significant. According to the Employment Strategy of the Population of Ukraine until 2030, as of August 2025, more than 600,000 Ukrainians were on parental leave to care for a child under the age of three. Women accounted for 97.5% of them.
“In the context of labour shortages, we need to create more opportunities for people to return to economic activity. For parents returning after a prolonged career break, simply offering a vacancy is often not enough – they may need to update their skills, undergo retraining or have access to more flexible working arrangements. Together with our partners, we want to develop a comprehensive pathway back to employment – from identifying a person’s needs to finding a job that can realistically be combined with childcare responsibilities,” said Ms Dariia Marchak, Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment of Ukraine.
The development of the model will contribute to the practical implementation of the principles of the European Social Charter, in particular Article 27 on the right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunities and equal treatment in employment and occupation. It is also in line with the principles of Article 20 of the Charter, which guarantees equal opportunities and equal treatment in employment and occupation without discrimination on the grounds of sex, including with regard to access to vocational guidance, training, retraining and career development.
The first stage of this initiative is supported by the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the social dimension in Ukraine”, implemented by the Council of Europe within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023–2026 “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction”.
