The National Employment Agency (NEA) will be able to provide employment counselling services to more beneficiaries thanks to mobile teams created with the support of UNDP, Switzerland and Japan. The announcement was made on 30 November 2023 at the Job Fair held in Chișinău.

At first, the mobile teams will operate in four districts of the country—Cimișlia, Dubăsari, Criuleni and Nisporeni—communities that also host refugees from Ukraine. The support includes four field cars, IT equipment for the mobile teams and training provided by the Lithuanian Employment Agency and international experts. The assistance provided was US$27,704, of which $12,482 was provided by the Government of Switzerland and $15,222 by the Government of Japan.

"These mobile teams will improve the access of rural communities to the services provided by the National Employment Agency, which, in turn, can increase in this way the outreach of its services. This will give the opportunity also to the most vulnerable people, who cannot easily afford paying for transportation, to get information on vacancies and to receive support in accessing jobs and training opportunities.The mobile teams will also improve the integration of the Ukrainian refugees in the Moldovan labour market. This will be beneficial for the economy; at least as importantly, the socio-economic integration of refugees will also contribute to strengthen social cohesion in the communities," said Guido Beltrani, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova.

"Through the mobile teams, we aim to identify inactive people in rural areas and continue efforts to integrate them into the labour market. In the current context, the mobile teams are an effective tool both for identifying those who are not active in the labour market and for developing related partnerships," said Raisa Dogaru, Director of the National Employment Agency.

The job fair brought together over 50 top employers from the food service, sales, banking and finance, accounting, IT, real estate, public sector and other industries. They presented more than 2,000 jobs, with more than 2000 visitors, including refugees from Ukraine. 

"When it comes to the future of this country, I am optimistic," says Yoichiro Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Moldova. "The working population needs to become confident about the future. That’s why we, the development partners, support the work of the National Employment Agency, and particularly the digitization of job-matching," added the ambassador.

"Developping the capacity of the private sector to create employment opportunities for both Moldovan citizens and refugees is essential, and we are pleased with the large number of companies participating in today's fair. Universal access to the labour market is essential, not only for individual well-being and local economic development but also for the development of human security as a whole. UNDP Moldova and its partners will continue to support the private sector to grow, innovate and create new jobs, thus contributing to a prosperous and inclusive economic environment," said Valeria Ieșeanu, Planning and Partnership Development Specialist, UNDP Moldova.

HEKS/EPER Moldova hosted a session at the fair dedicated to handicraft activities as a potential source of income for refugees. The discussion was attended by both local artisans and entrepreneurs from Ukraine who have opened businesses in the Republic of Moldova in this field.

The job fair was organized by the National Agency for Employment (NEA) and the General Directorate for Employment of the Municipality of Chișinău, in collaboration with UNDP Moldova, with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland, the Government of Japan, the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and HEKS/EPER Moldova.