Entrepreneurship, Digitisation and Career Guidance courses for partner schools of EU-funded Joboteca

Pupils in the 25 partner schools of EU-funded Joboteca Project have the opportunity to develop new skills in the framework of three courses: digital skills development, entrepreneurial education and career guidance. The activities are carried out in Joboteca spaces which have been provided with furniture and technical equipment as a main location for all initiatives related to career guidance and preparation for the labour market.

In 2022, interested teachers from partner schools took part in training courses in the three fields. 141 teachers were trained, two from each school in each subject.

Teachers were guided to deliver the subjects in an original way, involving professionals from different fields, parents, and specialists from the diaspora, who can share real stories about their careers and experiences. The three programmes include both theoretical and practical aspects, along with a detailed description of each activity.

She teaches the digital skills development course. Mrs Traci believes that this course is relevant for developing in pupils a set of necessary skills for the current reality.

"The content of this programme complements the pupils’ knowledge and skills in other disciplines and cultivates a more conscious attitude towards the use of information technologies and gadgets. Young people are exposed to many online risks, therefore it is important for them to know the basic rules of cyber hygiene and online protection. We also focus on capitalising on the opportunities provided by the online environment and the digital platforms. I wish the youngsters were able to use the technologies for their benefits following these courses ", the teacher says.

What are the three courses about

The entrepreneurship education course familiarises the pupils with the basic concepts of entrepreneurship and teaches them how to effectively start and manage entrepreneurial activities or projects. The programme includes a set of activities aimed at strengthening the pupils’ capacity to transform their ideas into actions, to manage projects, to work in a team and to identify business development opportunities.

The career guidance course provides the young people with a series of tools to create a plan for developing the skills they need on the labour market. Pupils learn about career options, including information about the learning opportunities and the most in-demand current jobs. Pupils also have the opportunity to take aptitude tests and participate in professional experience activities to test different professions.

"The career guidance course is very useful for me. Thanks to it, I learned about the particularities of several professions, we discussed about the labour market in our country and simulated the process of conducting a job interview. All this will make it easier for me to make decisions regarding my professional future", says Savca Anatolie, a 10th grade pupil at "Grigore Grigoriu" High School in the village of Cârnățeni.

The digital skills development course proposes a set of activities aimed at developing the pupils’ skills to use information technologies in work, learning and communication. The course includes components such as information and data literacy, digital communication and collaboration, digital content development, digital protection, and creative use of digital technologies, etc.

"Each of the three courses helps me see my professional future more clearly. Entrepreneurship has developed in me the so-called "entrepreneurial way of thinking", which helps me not to lose control in critical situations and to find the opportunity that comes with the problem I am facing. At the same time, as a result of the practical activities within the entrepreneurship and career guidance sessions, I realised that I like to take the initiative, to organise and to be the one who coordinates a team. Since attending these courses, I have also understood that I don't necessarily want to study economics and become an accountant. We don't choose our profession only according to the subjects we are good at, but we also have to explore from other perspectives which is the most suitable job for us",

Anastasia Sargarovschi, 11th grade pupil at "Mihai Eminescu" High School in Căușeni shared her view of the courses.

Since September 2022, the 141 teachers have carried out more than 700 hours of activities involving approximately 1,000 children. Teachers constantly collect feedback from pupils to improve the programme. After being piloted, the three courses will be adjusted and submitted to the Rayon Education Directorates and to the Ministry of Education and Research for further dissemination in schools that will be interested in them, and all training modules will also be available online.

The "JOBOTECA - Pilot programme for preparing the young people in Moldova for the labour market" Project (2021 - 2024) is funded by the European Union and implemented by Terre des hommes Romania and Terre des hommes Moldova, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova.

EU4Dialogue platform: leader women from the Eastern Partnership region discuss about women leadership and participation in policy-making processes

About 40 women from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova participated in a #EU4Dialogue Women’s Conference that took place in Brussels, in March 2023.

Women with different professional backgrounds from the region have been meeting regularly for over a year on a digital platform called the Women’s Platform for Agenda Setting (WPFAS). In short, the platform aims to help “increase women’s leadership and participation in all policymaking decisions/processes in all areas related to peace and security” in line with the EU's new Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 (GAP III).

This Brussels Conference was the first opportunity for the participants of the online platform to meet in person. Participants represented civil society activists, university professors, and other specialists such as water and energy experts. In the session on water, energy and climate change participants discussed policy challenges and gender impact related to Climate Change with providing practical recommendations.

The recommendations not only highlight how women are strained severely by the physical, economic, or societal impacts associated with climate change, but also how women address energy poverty, capacity building, finance and public awareness issues. The group discusses the need of a shared vision and goals for the collaboration based on a common understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the region related to women, water, climate change, and energy; cross-border community initiatives; monitoring tools, and many other ideas.

During the stay in Brussels the participants also had a chance to visit the EU Parliament and had an immense privilege of sharing their vision on vital issues with the inspirational Ms Marina Kaljurand, the EU Deputy and a woman with a vast experience in politics and leadership.

The EU-funded project "EU4Dialogue: Supporting Understanding between Conflict Parties" is the first component of a larger

EU4Dialogue Programme. EU4Dialogue Component 1 is a project that aims at encouraging dialogue and fostering better understanding across divides through conducting studies, organising events, trainings, and workshops on various levels and in various settings for participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.

One year of Russian aggression against Ukraine: confessions of Ukrainian displaced people

For almost a year, Ekaterina from Odessa is working at an aesthetic clinic in Ungheni city, the Republic of Moldova, close to the border with Romania. The woman and her two small children and sister found refuge there at the beginning of March 2022. Ekaterina’s job in Moldova is part-time, since she commutes regularly to Odessa, where is awaited by her husband and clients.

“On 24 February we woke up in a nightmare.”

Ekaterina arrived in the Republic of Moldova on 3 March 2022. Until then, she had lived in Odessa with her husband and their two children. Before the war, she visited Moldova as a tourist, she went to a concert and visited a few wineries.

Ekaterina graduated from the Medical University and had worked for more than seven years as a dermatologist and cosmetologist in Odessa:

“We were living our lives, making plans and suddenly we woke up in a nightmare.”

“When I woke up in the morning of 24 February under the awful sound of shelling, I was completely confused and lost. I didn’t have any baggage prepared, neither my car was fuelled... I just couldn’t believe that a war might start in the XXI century,” recalls Ekaterina.

Looking for safety, Ekaterina and her family sought refuge in the Republic of Moldova and they arrived in Ungheni.

Soon after arrival, Ekaterina rented a house, enrolled her children at school and kindergarten and even found a football club for her son.

“Soon we will celebrate my son’s birthday and I asked him whom he would like to invite to the party and his answer was - all his football team mates.”

Over almost a year, Ecaterina became renown and appreciated by more and more customers.

“I’m sometimes so sorry that it was the war that brought us together. I always tell her that I want the situation in her country to improve, but I also want her to come back here regularly, because her loyal clients wait for her,” says Olesea.

According to the National Employment Agency, by mid-January 2023, 959 Ukrainians found a job while in Moldova. Most of them work in Chișinău capital city – 720 people.

In April, Ekaterina managed to find a job at an aesthetic clinic in Ungheni:

“It was a happy event: I met Olesea, the owner of the clinic. We talked, I told her about my profession and she invited me to work with her”.

Specialised in mesotherapy and different anti-age facial treatments, Ekaterina proved to pave a new niche for Olesea Crăciun, the owner of an aesthetic clinic in Ungheni, beneficiary of the “EU4Moldova: Focal Regions” Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP and UNICEF.

“I was very interested in Ekaterina’s professional experience. She is performing procedures requiring a medical background and I’m very glad that she joined our team. She is a professional and customers love her,” notes Olesea.

“Because of our situation, we do not make long-term plans, we live right here and right now, we work, develop, learn and obviously we want to go back home as soon as possible,” says Ekaterina.

In the spring, she wanted to move back to Odessa for good, but the missiles striking residential buildings and civilians made her change her mind.

“Today a missile hits one city, tomorrow another city might be under attack. In such moments, I think first of all about my kids and I want them to be safe, that’s why I don’t make any plans yet.”

After one year of war, Ecaterina rediscovered her force to be optimistic again, but it took her some time to rehabilitate and understand that she needs to keep living her life. The postponed life syndrome was replaced by the motto “right here and right now”:

“I’m really grateful to my family that is very united and when someone has bad times, we support and help each other. I want to thank my customers who, despite the war, didn’t abandon the idea of living and being beautiful. Women in Odessa go to beauty shops and have their manicure done even under the sound of sirens and without electricity. The war united us and made us stronger.”

Ekaterina has also clients from Romania. She regularly goes to Iași, Bucharest, where she is awaited by her clients.

“For me, 300 km is not a long distance anymore, it’s just a usual day when I go to work,” says Ekaterina.

Once in two weeks, Ekaterina travels to Odessa, where she still has appointments with her loyal clients.

“First time I went back to Odessa was in March 2022. I went alone. I only took the children to Odessa during summer when things somehow calmed down. Life has changed dramatically there, but even so the city lives at its own pace, people have learned to live in a new reality, without light, without heat and sometimes in curfew.”

The war has brought a new lens into her family relations: “Now we no longer pay attention to trivial things, but indeed value what's really important - the health, unity and safety.” And when they briefly encounter again in Odessa, they cherish each moment together.

Meanwhile, in Ungheni – the city that she loves with all her heart and that became a second home – her children and her younger sister are eager to have her back.

After the war will end, Ekaterina hopes to keep travelling to the Republic of Moldova for work, because here she has loyal customers and friends.