Conference Agenda

Forced internal displacement and emigration of people create mutiple challenges and implies adaptations of the skill formation systems and policies. The skill formation of the forced migrants in the destination and transit countries is usualy restricted by the institutional, bureaucratic, economic, legal, and other obstacles (Agier Le Courant 2022). Protracted refugee situations create obstacles for the usage and nurturing of their potential in terms of skills and aspirations, what is often ignored or downplayed by the policy makers and institutions in the accepting countries (Betts 2021). Sustainability and long-term effectiveness of the skill formation and employment support measures for the refugees can be defined in terms of rights (to what extent these measures ensure access to fundamental human rights), policies (how do policy makers support these measures) and scale (how do these measures enduring over time and function at scale) (ibid). From the perspective of skill formation and employment, these terms involve accessibility of refugees and internally displaced persons to skill formation, political support for skill-formation oriented labour market and migration policies, and long-term engagement of different stakeholders in such policy interventions.

Refugee crisis provoked by the Russo-Ukrainian war started in February 2022 resulted into significant flows of internally displaced persons and war refugees, thus creating significant tensions and stress-tests for the skill formation, VET and employment systems of Ukraine and the countries which acccepted refugees. Comparatively high educational and VET quality standards of Ukraine together with a cultural proximity to Europe significantly helped employment of refugees and migrants from Ukraine in the EU (Hofmann 2022). A Communication from the Commission on the Report on Migration and Asylum (2023) notes important interventions by the EU in dealing with this refugee crisis, such as the recommendation of the Commission on recognition of professional and academic qualifications, guidance on access to the labour market, VET and adult learning, Ukrainian language skills-profiling tool for third-country nationals, providing refugees access to temporary protection in the EU labour market, and finalizing the project of comparability of Ukrainian and EU qualification frameworks.

Integration of the IDPs in the VET system and labour market of the Ukrainian regions less impacted by the war together with the requirement to reorient the VET provision to the changing skils needs of the war economy resuted in the significant changes of the VET curriculum design (shifting to the micro-qualifications), as well as to the provision of VET (implementation of the different WBL and apprenticeship schemes with participation of social partners, statet and civil society). Acceptance and integration of the Ukrainian war refugees after the start of the full scale war in February 2022 in Lithuania and Poland became the object of the public policies interest, mobilisation of the civil society, as well as desire of people to help.

This workshop seeks to compare the patterns of skill formation and labour market integration of the IDPs in Ukrainian regions and war refugees in Lithuania and Poland by referring to the findings of the Horizon Europe research project SKILL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND JUST MIGRATION PATTERNS. There are discussed the following research questions: 1) How do the systems and institutions of VET and continuing training provision in Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland create access to training for the IDPs and war refugees? 2) What are the implications of the available training and employment patterns to the human capital development of the IDPs and war refugees? 3) What are the implications of the available training and employment patterns of the IDPs and war refugees for their intentions to remain in and return to the labour market Ukraine after the war?