In 8 districts of our country, refugees from Ukraine and Moldovans are finding their way to success through vocational courses offered by Helvetas Moldova and the Association for Entrepreneurship Training and Development. Among them is Victoria Covalciucenco, a young woman from Ukraine who intends to follow her passion for cars and become a car mechanic.
“I have always been interested in cars. My motivation is to understand cars better, maybe in the future, to create my car service, a business. So, I can have my car, and if God forbid it breaks down, I can fix it myself.”
These courses, part of the project “Increasing Resilience through Employment and Social Cohesion,” were designed to provide training and retraining opportunities on the Moldovan labor market for locals and refugees from Ukraine who settled here.
“Vocational courses are another component of Helvetas’ assistance to the vulnerable population, including refugees from Ukraine. They are short courses, up to three months, which makes them more accessible to the majority of the population, who also have other duties,” says Clara Abdullah, Helvetas Moldova communications officer.
FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS, FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
The diverse range of courses on offer allows beneficiaries to discover their passions and develop new professional skills in a supportive environment with a focus on practical skills. Ludmila Bordea takes part in the computer course to prove that she can combine her role as a young mother with that of a student and then an employee.
“I want to make a change, to make it easier in the future so that you can even work from home. If you’re on maternity leave, with databases, you can work from home too,” says Ludmila.
The courses support participants with practical learning opportunities and with support and inspiration for finding a career. Vladimir Vintilescu, a participant in the electric welding course, sees this opportunity as a gateway to a stable and promising future at home in Moldova. “It’s something new and exciting. So I see this as the future.”
Currently, more than 300 people benefit from the professional and language courses, which take place in Chisinau, Anenii Noi, Ialoveni, Balti, Soroca, Drochia, Edinet, and Ocnita districts.
The vocational training courses are offered in the framework of the project “Increasing Resilience through Employment and Social Cohesion,” implemented in the consortium by Helvetas Moldova and HEKS/EPER Moldova, with the support of the Swiss Government. Strategic implementing partner: National Agency for Employment.