EU to support Ukraine’s €700 million Skills Alliance initiative to train more than 180,000 workers in three years

Ukraine, together with the European Union and donors, has launched the Skills Alliance initiative, which aims to train more than 180,000 workers over the next three years.

The initiative was announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference on 11 June in Berlin.

The international organisations, including the European Training Foundation (ETF) as part of the EU’s commitment to the process, business community members and governments from more than 50 countries pledged to support a €700 million re-qualification initiative, launched by the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy.

This initiative addresses the urgent human capital challenges in Ukraine posed by Russia’s full-scale invasion. The war has caused significant internal and external displacement of the population and severe damage to education infrastructure, as documented by the ETF’s regular monitoring.

“These disruptions, combined with military needs, have led to critical skills shortages, particularly in traditionally male-dominated professions, hampering economic and business development,” says the ETF in a press release.

The Alliance is primarily aimed at young people, internally displaced persons and women, and mostly directed towards people in Ukraine, but will also support Ukrainians who fled the country.

The Skills Alliance brings together different initiatives and strengthens effective collaboration between Ukraine and the Alliance members. One example is the Skills4Recovery initiative, which is co-financed by the European Union, Germany, Estonia, and Poland. Skills4Recovery enhances workforce training for internally displaced people, youth, veterans and vulnerable groups, with a specific focus on vital industries such as construction, logistics, agriculture, services and manufacturing.

Find out more

Press release