The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine are jointly developing a broad government policy aimed at the comprehensive development of human capital in the process of preparing the Ukraine Plan under the EU’s Ukraine Facility programme.

Among the policies aimed at developing human capital, the Ukraine Plan envisages building a safe and inclusive educational environment for access to quality education, transforming vocational education, improving the rehabilitation system for people with disabilities, improving healthcare, gender equality, implementing housing programmes such as the eOselia affordable mortgage programme, reforming social protection, creating a sustainable system for the transition from military service to civilian life, developing demographic and migration strategies, and pension reform. In particular, one of the reforms is to improve the social infrastructure system and deinstitutionalise care for children, people with disabilities and the elderly.

“The Government pays considerable attention to human capital development in the Ukraine Plan. This applies not only to the return of Ukrainians who have moved abroad, but also to long-term challenges. We need a balanced inclusive policy, including in the area of deinstitutionalisation of care for children, the elderly and people with disabilities, aimed at improving conditions for their care, as well as at engaging all productive forces for the development and recovery of the national economy. The critical need for this is also emphasised by specialised NGOs and international agencies,” said Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

Over the next decade, a shortage of about 4.5 million workers is expected in the labour market. From an economic point of view, it is very important that all today’s children are socialised in the future, take an active part in the socio-economic life of society and participate in the labour market, and that families that include a person with a disability have professional care and the opportunity to work and have their own income.

“An unconditional component of the Ukraine Plan in the ‘Human Capital’ section is to create opportunities for all children who have been left without parental care and are currently in institutions to live in a family, receive warmth and attention in a family or family-based care. It also means creating conditions for people in need of care (e.g., the elderly, people with disabilities) to receive such care not in institutions, but at home or in a format close to a family. Therefore, the deinstitutionalisation reform is a key priority for the Ministry of Social Policy and has been a part of the Ukraine Plan from the very beginning. We are talking about implementing the deinstitutionalisation strategy and developing tools for providing social services to all people who need them,” said Daria Marchak, First Deputy Minister of Social Policy.

The Government expects to complete the preparation of the Ukraine Plan under the EU’s Ukraine Facility programme by early November 2023.