The roundtable discussion “Employment of Ukrainian Veterans: Promising Projects, Problematic Issues, and Ways to Solve Them” brought together members of the Ukrainian Parliament, representatives of state authorities, local governments, government agencies, NGOs and businesses.

The participants discussed current challenges and opportunities in the field of veterans’ employment and development of an effective policy to support them.

The panel discussions were attended by Taras TARASENKO (MP, deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights), Volodymyr ARTIUKH (head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration), Oleksii ROMANKO (head of the Sumy Regional Council), Vasyl KARPUSHA (SumDU rector), Vadym SVYRIDENKO (advisor to the Presidential Commissioner for Rehabilitation of Combatants), Yurii BALANIUK (head of the National Qualifications Agency). Also, members of the Ukrainian Parliament joined. Among them, there was Ihor MOLOTOK (deputy chairman of the SumDU Supervisory Board).

The participants spoke about importance of veterans’ communities, in particular the Veteran Development Centers. There, defenders are helped to integrate into civilian life, including in terms of employment. SumDU was among the first institutions to establish a Veteran Development Center and implement a pilot project to train veterans’ assistants.

According to Vasyl KARPUSHA, the university systematically implements an inclusive educational policy. It provides opportunities for professional retraining of persons who participated in hostilities. Civilian specialties demanded in the labor market are discussed. The Department of Psychology, Political Science and Socio-Cultural Technologies trains masters in Psychology (including voucher programs of employment centers). The university actively cooperates with these centers not only locally but also in other regions of Ukraine. The training of specialists is focused on psychological support for veterans. Veterans can also obtain the specialty of psychologist directly.

Another important area of activity is scientific: conducting research and sociological surveys. One of them was aimed at assessing needs of the veteran community in terms of psychosocial support, employment assistance and career planning.

“Results of this comprehensive study will be useful for government and local authorities in preparing relevant programs aimed at supporting veterans, namely in employment,” – emphasized the rector.

Following the discussion, the roundtable participants proposed a number of initiatives to expand professional retraining programs for veterans in cooperation with universities. It was possible to support veteran entrepreneurship through grant programs.