INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL ADAPTATION

Project "Norway - Ukraine"

Project “Norway - Ukraine”, UKR - 20/002 (NUPASS)

“Norway-Ukraine.  Professional adaptation.  Integration into the state system"

 
About the Project

The project is based on the professional retraining of the target group on civilian specialties, which are in demand in the Ukrainian labor market, assisting project participants in social adaptation to the conditions of life in the civil society.

The executors of the project’s main part are Ukrainian educational institutions and the Norwegian NORD University, which organize and carry out the professional retraining of project participants in the chosen specialties in the amount of 500 academic hours. Upon successful mastering of the training course the graduates receive three documents: a certificate of professional retraining of the state sample (from Ukrainian educational institution), a joint certificate from the NORD University and Ukrainian educational institution and a joint diploma from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.

 

In the course of social adaptation, project participants receive assistance in legal and psychological adaptation, assistance in finding employment and organizing their own businesses.  This is a task for non-governmental organizations, foundations, state agencies, local administration and small business enterprises.  The coordinator in Ukraine is the International Foundation for Social Adaptation.  The project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the participation of Ukrainian project partners.

The main criterion for project quality is to improve the living conditions of its participants. The results are evaluated after completion of the training course, after three months, one year, two years and three years.  The history of the project began in 2003.  The first 45 military officers of the Navy Forces of Ukraine have been retrained on the basis of the Sevastopol National Technical University and received the social adaptation services.

 

Between 2003 and 2021, 13, 357 people participated in the project, including 2,984 ATO/JFO participants.

 

Since the beginning of the project, it has involved 39 Ukrainian cities and more than 20 higher educational establishments in Ukraine.

 

Thanks to the “Ukraine-Norway” project, the Norwegian-Ukrainian University Alliance was created in 2014 and expanded in 2016.  It now includes 16 universities (15 Ukrainian and Norwegian NORD Universities).

 

In 2017 - 2019, the project was co-financed by local government agencies and other organizations in the form of grants to project graduates for the implementation of business projects with a total amount of 853 000 UAH.  (Odesa, Mykolaiv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions).

 

For the three-year phase 2020-2022, the project has the following goals, tasks, requirements for candidates and implementation features:

 

Goal of the project: effective implementation of the model of professional adaptation of military officers, veterans and their family members into the state system of Ukraine.

 

Tasks of the project:

  1. Increasing the degree of social and professional adaptation of redundant military officers, veterans and their families to the conditions of civilian life.
  2. Development and implementation in practice of the stable model of social and professional adaptation of military officers, combatants and their families, including the main components:

- professional retraining on short-term courses in the specialties required in the labor market;

- psychological adaptation;

- legal adaptation;

- assistance in employment and setting up one’s own (family) business.

  1. Provide methodological and advisory assistance to heads of NGOs, regional representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, local authorities in the effective implementation of the “Norway-Ukraine” project into the state system of social and professional adaptation of military officers, veterans and their families.
  2. Expanding of the project implementation experience and its implementation in the state system of adaptation of military officers, veterans and their families throughout Ukraine.

 

Target audience of the project:

All project participants are divided into two categories: target audience 1 and target audience 2.

 

Target Audience 2 (TA 2)

 

The following categories of Ukrainian citizens are allowed to participate in the project and receive a full range of services in professional retraining, psychological and legal adaptation, assistance in employment and creation of their own small (family) businesses:

  1. The military officers of the Armed Forces and other security forces who are scheduled for release this year.
  2. Military officers of the Armed Forces and other security forces, who have been discharged from military service during the last three years and have a minimum of 10 years of service.
  3. Participants of combat actions having the status of participant, registered in accordance with the current legislation (hereinafter - veterans).
  4. Family members (spouses) of the above categories.
  5. Family members of the fallen combatants (husband / wife).

 

 

Professional retraining is carried out by the universities of Ukraine and in the context of mentioned project consists of:

  • Curriculum development according to labor market requirements and participants' ability to master the program.
  • Theoretical classes (approximately 30% of the curriculum).
  • Practical classes (approximately 70% of the curriculum).
  • Individual consultations to project participants.
  • Provision of additional services to the university (use of the library, the audience for individual work, the gym, etc.).

 

Social adaptation is performed by the public organizations and other IFSA partners and in the context of the mentioned project is composed of:

 

  • Psychological adaptation (group trainings, individual consultations, work with individual subgroups).
  • Legal adaptation (group and individual consultations).
  • Assistance in the employment or creation of own business (trainings, consultations on business planning and employment, meetings with potential employers, business practices of project participants at enterprises, etc.).

 

 

 

 

Requirements for completing training groups:

 

  •  women - not less than 30% (including 10% - military officers);
  •  family members - not more than 30%;
  •  age of participants - up to 50 years (usually);

 

 Target Audience 1 (TA 1)

 

Target audience 1 includes the heads of public organizations who organize the implementation of the NUPASS project, as well as regional representatives of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs, organizers of "veterans' spaces", representatives of local authorities responsible for the implementation of state programs of professional retraining, psychological and legal adaptation of military officers, veterans and their families.  The measures for target audience 1 are aimed to prove knowledge about the NUPASS project for its implementation in government programs, as well as to improve the level of expertise TA 1 in organizing and implementing social programs in the regions.

 

In the acquisition of TA 1, first of all, the interest of the project participants to get the maximum knowledge about the features of the organization and implementation of the project is taken into account.  All TA 1 participants are planned to be involved as consultant at the expansion of the project's geography and its inclusion in government programs. 

 

The selection of areas and specialty of professional retraining.

 

Professional retraining areas and specialty are selected on the basis of an analysis of the labor market in each project region, initial vocational training of candidates for training, opportunities of educational institutions to organize high-level retraining.  Professional retraining is considered in the project as an opportunity for systematic professional influence on the students' minds in order to form their outlook for further conscious activity in civil society on the basis of the necessary minimum knowledge about the laws and rules of human relations.

 

The list of cities of the project implementation, partners and retraining specialties are updated every semester and are available in the section "Geography".

 

Key features of the project:

 

  • Participation in the project of military officers’ family members (no more than 30% of participants).
  • Gender factor - at least 30% of the participants are women (including 10% are military officers).
  • Requirements of the Norwegian partner on employment after the retraining: 75% shall be employed within 3 months and 100% shall receive favorable offers of employment or start own business within a year after completion of the training.
  •  Special focus on the organization of own business by the project participants (at least 20% of the graduates).
  • Complexity of the project: professional retraining, socio -psychological and legal adaptation, organizational and psychological preparation for the effective job searches / start of one’s own business, monitoring of results (sampling0 after 3 years after the graduation.
  • The graduates receive the documents from the both Ukrainian and Norwegian universities.
  • International Foundation for Social Adaptation carries out the publishing activities.
  • Project focus on the formation of social partnership system in the regions with involvement of local authorities, society, business, Ukrainian and international organizations in order to effectively solve the problem of social adaptation of military officers in Ukraine.

 

Project  implementation procedure

The project is implemented on the basis of Agreement UKR-20/002 concluded between NORD University and International Charitable Foundation "International Foundation for Social Adaptation" (Ukraine). According to Agreement the period of the project implementation is divided to semesters (spring and fall). The training duration is 500 academic hours.  All additional events, such as psychological and legal adaptation, employment assistance and organization of own business, shall be organized by the project partners during the training semesters. In order to achieve these tasks the project engages the non-governmental organizations, employment agencies’ experts, tax administrations, enterprises and businessmen in regions of project implementation.

The professional retraining of project participants is ensured under the Agreements between IFSA and Ukrainian educational institutions on semester-term basis. All additional events are conducted on the basis of Grant Agreements between NGOs and other non-profit organizations, and on the basis of Service Agreements concluded between organizations, enterprises and businessmen of Ukraine.

Project geography is defined by Norwegian and Ukrainian organizers on semester-term basis considering actual need in certain type of activity, as well as Ukrainian universities and organizations availability to execute the project tasks on a high level within the allocated financing.  During the project implementation the monitoring is provided with the engagement of Ukrainian and foreign consulting companies focused on social projects evaluation. For the annual assessment of the tasks implementation quality the Control Group is composed with the representatives of different organizations: Nord University, IFSA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and Ukraine, Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Ministry of education and science of Ukraine, other ministries, enterprises and institutions. The Control Group annually summarizes the project implementation results and approves the plan for it further development. Triennially the independent international organization ensures the project evaluation.  Throughout the lifetime of the project realization, the Nord University organizes work on the social audit activities systematic conduct in order to adjust the project implementation methods, increase its efficiency, and formalize the processes for implementing the project model in the state system of Ukraine.

Training groups are recruited by selected non-profit organizations and IFSA regional representatives on the basis of Agreements concluded with IFSA.

 

Project financing and contractors' reporting

Project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway. Nord University is a direct project partner from the Norwegian side. The initial document defining the procedure for project financing is the Agreement concluded between Nord University and the ICF “International Foundation for Social Adaptation”. ICF IFSA concludes appropriate contracts with Ukrainian performers for each training semester. At the end of the academic semester, within ten days, all the contractors submit to the IFSA financial reports on the intended use of funds in the form and content specified in the annexes to each agreement. The project funds shall not be used to fund any political campaigns, political advocacy, support for election campaigns and political parties, influence the election results and other activities considered to be political. If the misuse of funds is discovered, the contractor must be excluded from the participants without right to return to the project. All the local project partners should make efforts to co-finance the project. The involvement of interested organizations may be in the form of:

  •  increasing the number of participants or expanding the range of services provided to them;
  • allocation of grants to project graduates to start their own business;
  • organization of additional participant groups based on the partner network of the project.

The project organizers pay particular attention to facilitating employment and organizing their own business by the project participants.

 

The organizations that have expressed a desire to intensify the project can participate in the local activities through cooperation with its participants: educational institutions, public organizations, enterprises, etc.