Ukraine launches internship and employment program for people over 50: what you need to know
Фото: pixabay
Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko announced the launch of a new state program “Experience Matters”, which provides for internships and employment of people aged 50+. The program should help businesses find staff, and people with experience – return to the labor market.
She wrote about this in Telegram .
According to the Prime Minister, the economy’s need for workers has already become one of the biggest challenges for Ukraine. The construction and defense industries are experiencing the most acute shortage of personnel.
“People are the foundation of our resilience and economic capacity. Each and every one of us is needed for the economy in times of war and the country’s recovery,” said Yulia Svyrydenko.
She announced that the government is launching a national adult internship program “Experience Matters” for people aged 50+.
“That is why the Government is forming a new employment policy, in which human capital is the country’s main resource, and its focus is not only on creating jobs, but also on removing barriers to work,” said Yulia Svyridenko.
The program will be implemented jointly with the State Employment Center, business and public partners. Its goal is to combine the experience of people 50+ with the current needs of employers.
The program provided participants with:
- free education;
- short interviews with employers;
- short-term internship;
- the possibility of further employment;
- psychologist consultations;
- assistance in identifying professional skills.
For employers, the program provides the opportunity to receive candidates who have already undergone preliminary training. The duration of the short-term internship will be 10 working days.
According to the government, the program will consist of three main stages:
- training and preparation for a new career stage;
- meetings and short interviews with employers;
- internship or employment.
Participants will be offered 3 free training modules:
- “Career Strategy”;
- “Digital Tools and Artificial Intelligence”;
- “Interaction in teams of different ages.”
During the training, participants will be taught how to adapt to the modern labor market, work with digital tools, and interact in multi-age teams.
Separately, the program provides for the use of candidate selection systems using artificial intelligence. After submitting an application, the system will generate a list of vacancies or candidates depending on the needs of the employer or participant.
For professionals 50+, the participation algorithm provides for:
- registration and application submission;
- filling in the skills matrix;
- receiving free education;
- automatic selection of vacancies;
- interview;
- internship and possible employment.
Employers will have to register a company, publish internship vacancies, and go through the automatic selection procedure.
The government also published a roadmap for the implementation of the program in 2026:
- May — application submission and information campaign;
- June-July — training of candidates;
- July-August — short interviews;
- July-September — internship;
- September-October – employment.
According to Yulia Svirydenko, the study “Labor Market After 50” showed that employers value experienced employees, but some companies point to barriers in the field of digital skills and the influence of age stereotypes during hiring.
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