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FINAL REPORT Network of Career Advisory Centres in the Republic of Moldova Project
27 February 2017
Reporting Period September, 2015 – December, 2016
Donor Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Country Republic of Moldova
Project Title Network of Career Advisory Centres in the Republic of Moldova
Project ID (Atlas Award ID) Outputs Atlas Project ID and description
00088061 00094883 SYSLAB II Project
Implementing Partner(s) Ministry of Economy, National Employment Agency, Local academia, private sector, other.
Project Start Date 01.09.2015
Project End Date 31.07.2018 (early termination upon Donor request on 31.12.2016)
Total project budget for August 2015 – July 2018
1,572,371USD
August 2015 – December 2016 Total Budget
643,114.59.00 USD of which: - 603,114.59 USD reflecting NMFA contribution as per the negotiations following the early termination of the cost-share agreement (including the unspent balance from previous project – SYSLAB I) - 40,000 USD reflecting UNDP regular resources
Break down of the resources projected as per Project Document:
2015-2018 Total budget: 1,572,371USD
Total resources required 1,572,371USD
Regular 40,000USD
Other: NMFA 1,532,371USD In-kind Contributions 493,100.00 USD
Revenue received in 2015 -2016: NMFA actual contribution received: 593,496.41 USD
NMFA actual contribution (transferred balance of SYSLAB Int. from the previous project SYSLAB I): 9,618.18 USD
UNDP resources, reflected in the system as NMFA contribution, to cover the cost-share deficit for 2016: 4,373.44 USD
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UNDP regular resources: 39,994.26 USD
Unfunded budget 924,882.97 USD
UNDP Contact Person Stefan Liller Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Moldova Email: stefan.liller@undp.org Tel.: 0373-22-269-108
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Table of Contents
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 1
II. BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................... 2
III. REVIEW OF PROGRESS AND RESULTS ACHIEVED .......................................................................... 3
IV. PROJECT RISKS AND ISSUES .......................................................................................................... 16
A. UPDATED PROJECT RISKS AND ACTIONS ......................................................................................................... 16 B. UPDATED PROJECT ISSUES AND ACTIONS ....................................................................................................... 17
V. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................................................................................................. 17
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD ............................................................................................ 19
VII. FINANCIAL STATUS ......................................................................................................................... 20
“After the SYSLAB experience, I became more confident in my potential, discovered capacities that I
didn’t know I had and gained more courage overall.” (Livia Lupascu, beneficiary of SYSLAB Balti)
“The trainings, situational simulations provided by SYSLAB played an important role in job search.
Now I know that unemployment is not a permanent condition, but just a short period in life” (Radu
Fursenco, beneficiary of Chisinau SYSLAB Center)
“Due to SYSLAB, many of us managed to find a job, others learn how to apply for grants or launch
their businesses. I am a clear example of that, I have launched a business - a dance studio and now
we have more than 100 clients and plan to expand.” (Carolina Pancenco, SYSLAB Rezina)
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I. Executive summary
The SYSLAB II project was launched in September 2015, with the aim to consolidate the results of the
previous phase (the SYSLAB I project, 2013-2015), related to the operation and development of the
existing network of 5 career advisory centers and the establishment of a complementary self-
employment entrepreneurship component. Originally, it was planned for implementation until July
2018, but, upon the notification on behalf of the donor, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
about its decision on the early termination of the project, for reasons not related to project
implementation/performance, the agreed date for the project end was set for 31 December 2016.
The present report, therefore, relates to the period of September 2015-December 2016. In the
respective period, the project team managed to successfully achieve and over deliver on all project
key targets as set out in the Results and Resources Framework.
The Network of 5 Career Advisory Centres,
in Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, Comrat and
Rezina, was successfully strengthened,
with job-seeking assistance provided by an
experienced and knowledgeable team of
professionals and the assistance on
entrepreneurship development built in.
For the job-seeking component, the
Network assisted 383 unemployed women
and men during the reporting period, a
148% over-delivery compared to the
target of 200 for the entire period of the
project. The employability success rate for the beneficiaries of the Centres in 2015-2016 is 80%,
exceeding the targeted rate of at least 60%. Similarly, the results on the self-employment component
was of 37%, exceeding the initially targets of at least 10%. The target of ensuring at least 50% of
female direct beneficiaries was also overpassed, with 73% female participation in job seeking groups
and 52% female participation in entrepreneurship groups in 2016. All in all, since 2013, more than 950
beneficiaries benefited from the career advisory services for employment promotion.
The project team implemented a successful experimental UNDP scholarship for graduates at the
Cahul University. It also received the Ministry of Education’s approval to pilot job-seeking modules in
the Cahul University curricula during the 2nd semester of the 2016-2017 academic year.
In the second quarter of 2016, the team successfully kicked off the entrepreneurship program,
developed by a team of experts, including one mentor from the Board of mentors of the parallel LED
project and the recruited entrepreneurship staff started its implementation in August 2016, with a
total of 49 beneficiaries in all 5 Centres. Overall, a total of 60 people benefited from the
entrepreneurship program during 2015-2016. A Seed-Money Fund competition was organized in
October 2016, with 24 applications received and 19 competitively accepted for financing.
The coordination among Centres was ensured, including through an established Task Force, staff
retreats organized twice per year, weekly joint skype meetings, on-line joint folder where all best
practices are shared, and a strong commitment from the Project Management team.
Teambuilding activities in the SYSLAB Rezina Centre
2
Additional funds have been mobilized from the European Union to fully cover the running costs of the
Comrat Career Centre for the period of 2016-2018 (~150,000 EUR). Also, UNDP core funds (~90,000
USD) have been mobilized to run a Randomized Controlled Trial to evaluate the impact of the soft
skills training methodology (based on the SYSLAB methodology) transferred to territorial structures
of the National Employment Agency and thus influence policy decisions on the matter. Moreover,
regional UNDP catalytic funds (~80,000 USD) have been secured to develop and run a youth-oriented
skills observatory and experimentation, given that youth is among the most vulnerable groups on the
labor market. Seed money (>10,000 EUR) was also mobilized from the private sector, to provide
grants to the beneficiaries of the entrepreneurship component. Such initiatives were planned to run
in parallel with the Career Centres. The early termination of the project has put forward additional
challenges in terms of ensuring the sustainability of the network and their successful transfer under
the auspices of the Moldovan Government but the project team and the national counterparts took
active measures to overcome the respective difficulties.
Thus, during the Project board meeting held on 31 January 2017, the National Implementing Partner
of the Project – the Ministry of Economy, informed about its readiness to support the running of the
Career Centres in 3 locations of Moldova during 2017, on a 50/50% cost-sharing basis. It will ensure
the further implementation of the job-seeking and entrepreneurship support components, albeit with
reduced teams in the centers, provide coaching support to the new entrepreneurs-beneficiaries of the
Project Seed-Fund, as well as the running of the Randomized Controlled Trial to evaluate the impact
of the improved National Employment Agency curriculum on the speed and quality of employment.
The minutes of the board meeting is attached hereto as Annex 2.
II. Background
The Network of Career Advisory Centers in the Republic of Moldova Project aimed at promoting
employment and self-employment in Moldova through the development of soft skills among job-
seekers, of their executive substantive individual job search and employment plans, as well as of
entrepreneurial skills. In doing so, the Project implemented two distinct but inter-linked components,
i.e. employability promotion and entrepreneurship.
Within the employment component, the project relied on the SYSLAB methodology. It included
trainings, simulations, individual coaching and other tools to develop the soft skills of job seekers who
already had hard skills, to search and get relevant employment. They were empowered to put to best
use their skills, knowledge, academic background, previous work experiences, competencies and
interests. It includes a specific training module on generic business planning (BPS), that is stimulating
creative thinking towards potential self-employment pathways.
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Within the entrepreneurship component,
the Project implemented a tailored
methodology that included trainings and
coaching. The approach was open towards
potential beneficiaries with or without
specific business ideas, with different levels
of understanding of entrepreneurship, with
different skills and academic background.
It aimed to provide a company-style
enabling environment for individual and
group work that started with theoretical
trainings, combined with practical
business and financial planning exercises,
and coaching. It further offered access, on a competitive basis, to a seed-fund for matching support
towards the initiation of new start-ups.
Both components were implemented by a network of 5 Career Advisory centers located in Chisinau,
Rezina, Balti, Comrat and Cahul, each having a dedicated team. The Career Centres have been
established under the Innovative Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Employment Project during June
2013- April 2015 with support from SYSLAB International AS and British Embassy in Moldova.
Starting with January, 2016, Comrat Centre is financially supported from EU funds, for a period
of 3 years, as part of a wider technical assistance project of the European Union. Thus, Comrat
Centre will continue to work with jobseekers and young entrepreneurs during the mentioned period.
III. Review of Progress and Results Achieved
The Centres continued to provide support to people looking for employment or self-employment in
their home-country, through trainings and coaching on job-seeking and entrepreneurship, provided
by employment and entrepreneurship experts. Job-seeking support was provided based on the
SYSLAB methodology, developed by SYSLAB International, to skilled unemployed, in full-time
groups, for a period of up to 4 months for each beneficiary. SYSLAB International provided continuous
guidance during its implementation and reporting on the status of direct beneficiaries in Centres. The
entrepreneurship support was provided based on a dedicated entrepreneurship program developed
by the Project in 2016 (see the description in Annex 1).
During 2015-2016, the Project achieved the following key results, by key components:
A) Running of SYSLAB Centres
Learning to plan one’s own business. SYSLAB Rezina
4
The physical spaces of the network of
5 career advisory centers were used
to accommodate full-time groups of
beneficiaries both for job-seeking
groups, as well as for
entrepreneurship groups. One
Career Centre has at least one open-
space computer room, one
conference room, and the office of
the advisors. Separate spaces to
allow for individual counselling
activities are also part of some
Centres. Given that groups on each
component were organized based on
separate training/coaching Agendas, the physical space was separated to accommodate the needs of
beneficiaries. In Chisinau, for instance, a separate computer/training room is allocated to work with
groups on entrepreneurship.
All career advisory centers in the network are hosted by local counterparts.
The capacity of the centers to train direct beneficiaries, calculated in equipped working spaces, is
shown below. The offices of Chisinau and Cahul Centres were extended in 2016 with 21 additional
working places for beneficiaries.
B) Recruitment and employment of beneficiaries
During the reporting period, a total of
443 people benefited from the support
in full-time groups at Career
Development Centres, out of which 383
beneficiaries in job-seeking and 60 in
entrepreneurship groups. By 31
December, 2016, 80% of beneficiaries in
job-seeking groups got employed
(average results per Centres). This
indicator exceeds the indicator of min.
Centre Staff Employment Entrepreneurship Total nr. Beneficiaries in
Centre
Chisinau 6 30 12 42
Balti 4 20 7 27
Rezina 3 5 5 10
Cahul 4 20 9 29
Comrat 4 12 8 20
TOTAL 21 87 41 128
Life in the working, open space class. SYSLAB Chisinau
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60% employment rate indicated in the Project Document.
During September 2015 – August 2016, a
total of 383 unemployed women and
men were supported by all the 5 Career Centres (81 in Comrat), and 956 people were supported during
2013-2016, under phase I and phase II of the Project. The average employment rate for the entire
project period is 85% and 3% - beneficiaries who planned and/or launched their businesses (self-
employment).
In 2016, the Project piloted an experiment in the Cahul SYSLAB Centre within the job-seeking
component. The experiment targeted the new graduates of the local state University, who were
invited to apply for an employment scholarship consisting of a symbolic amount of money equivalent
to the university scholarship, offered by the Project to those selected as full-time beneficiaries. The
competition was announced before the graduation, as a result of which a group of 12 beneficiaries
was created and received job-seeking training and coaching in full time groups. Even if the
participants did not have employment experience, the employability results were encouraging: 83%
of all participants got a job within 2 months of assistance from the SYSLAB centre. It is worth
mentioning that the majority of the participants got employment suitable with their graduation
degree.
To evaluate the utility of the 12 training modules, the Project developed and distributed a
questionnaire. It was sent to all the beneficiaries, through e-mail, with the findings presented below,
for 2 selected questions:
1) Which 3 modules were most useful for your employment?
Selected module Nr votes
Successful CV 152
Successful Interview 123
Job announcements / Application letters / Motivation letters 73
Presentation techniques 59
Communication skills 53
Competence mapping 51
Telephone techniques 36
Personal branding 32
Networking 25
Teambuilding 24
Company visits 22
Business Planning Seminar (BPS) 21
Time management 18
Developing a successful CV and tips for a successful Interview were considered the most helpful
training modules in ensuring employment. Cover/motivation letter, presentation techniques and
competence mapping were also considered important by the beneficiaries
2) If you got employed with support from SYSLAB, are you still working at the same job?
Teambuilding activities in the SYSLAB Chisinau Centre
6
To note is though that a significant percentage indicated that they changed their place of work
because they have been awarded a promotion within the same company where he/she got employed
with SYSLAB support.
C) Self-Employment /entrepreneurship development
The full-fledged entrepreneurship program was developed during the second quarter of 2016 by a
team of national and international consultants hired by the Project. In parallel, a team of
entrepreneurship experts was hired during this period (one dedicated person in each Career Centre),
with the entrepreneurship program transferred to the Centres in July 2016. The implementation of
the entrepreneurship program in all 5 Centres started in August 2016, with 60 people in full-time
groups (the Comrat Centre had 2 groups, 11 people each, the second started in late autumn), based
on a training agenda implemented during August-December, 2016.
The entrepreneurship program was structured in 3 phases:
1) Pre-training, where a wide audience can participate and consists of short trainings for idea
identification and capturing;
2) Training & coaching delivered by
entrepreneurship mentors, in full-
time groups, to individuals selected
on competitive basis and based on
the guidelines defined in the
entrepreneurship program manual.
The main selection criteria applied to
applicants were: motivation to start-
up a business, availability to
participate in full-time training and
coaching activities, financial
capacity – availability of matching
resources to start-up a business.
This period was the most
condensed and intensive, and organized in Career Centres during a period of up to 4 months.
The training modules covered: a) Entrepreneurial and innovation topics: idea generation,
competitors, customers, resources and activities, business model, sales and marketing, price
64%
36%
Total per Centers network
Yes
No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Chisinau Balti Cahul Comrat Rezina
Yes No
Company visit for entrepreneurship program beneficiaries
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definition and costs, presentation -pitching; and b) Management and doing business topics: legal
forms and establishment, accounting and finances, taxes and other obligations.
3) Business incubation and scaling followed the training and coaching phase as participants started
and developed their business, continuing to receive coaching support from the entrepreneurship
specialists. This period was organized during a 4 to 6-months period, outside of the Centre’s premises.
A number of entrepreneurs could also use the facilities of the Centres for start-up related activities,
upon availability. In Balti, for instance, 1 working space was allocated to an entrepreneur developing
a business in furniture industry.
Seed-Money Fund
A dedicated fund to support start-up development was created and made available, based on a
competitive process, to entrepreneurship group beneficiaries. Its main goal was to support aspiring
entrepreneurs to start-up their own micro-enterprise, also promoting implementation of innovations
into business. The amount for one beneficiary was up to 3,000 USD, as a 50% contribution, with the
rest needing to be supplied by the beneficiary. In 2016, the Seed-Money Fund competition took place
in October 2016, for the full-time groups that started in August 2016. From a total of 49 beneficiaries
in the entrepreneurship groups (from which 11 in the Comrat Centre), 24 applied for funding and 19
were accepted for financing, in the following business domains: IT (1 business), energy efficiency (2
businesses), catering (1), metallurgy (2), beekeeping (3), textile (1), foreign language training services
(2), design and decorations (4), greenhouse (1), other (2).
The geographical distribution of the supported businesses was as follows: 3-Rezina, 3-Comrat, 7-Balti,
6-Chisinau. No applications were received from the Cahul Centre. The beneficiaries from the Comrat
Centre were financed from EU funds.
The seed-fund for the promotion of start-ups was also implemented in 2015, with 5 business ideas
funded by the project, 3 out of 5 businesses extending their activity in 2016 (Centre for early child
development, dance studio and production of apparel).
The beneficiaries of Seed-Fund 2015, as well as entrepreneurship groups participants from 2016, also
benefitted from business development trainings, delivered by international consultants/practitioners
within the LED Project, implemented by UNDP with funding from the Norwegian Government. The
trainings covered topics such as the ABC on innovation, innovative funding for SME, Business model
generation, innovative marketing.
During 2017, UNDP will continue to monitor the implementation of businesses of the 19 Seed-Fund
finalists from 2016.
Social Entrepreneurship
Under the entrepreneurship component, the call for ideas to support business ideas for self-
employment and social impact was launched in the second part of 2016. The competition was
organized in 2 phases: application with a concept note, and in the second – the full application. Out of
10 interested applicants, 6 submitted a full application and 3 were selected for financing, as follows:
SRL Constilcard – textile production in rural areas, with the employment of vulnerable
women.
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AO Business Support Center for inclusion of blind persons in social and economic life – food
products made by small, individual producers, including those with disabilities in rural areas
AO SOS AUTISM – kindergarten for kids with autism.
The Ministry of Economy strongly supports the development of social entrepreneurship, drafting a
Law on social entrepreneurship, which is now in Parliament for approval.
PROGRESS TOWARDS PROJECT OUTPUTS
OUTPUT 1: Develop the network of existing career advisory centres (5 centres) with employability
and entrepreneurship components
Output Indicators Baseline Target Current status
Indicator A: 5 functional career
advisory centres
5 Career
Advisory Centres
created in
Chisinau, Balti,
Rezina, Cahul
and Comrat
under Innovative
Entrepreneurship
for Sustainable
Employment
Project
Network of 5
career advisory
centres is fully
functional and
coordinating the
implementation
of activities
through Task
Force
mechanism
Employability and
entrepreneurship
components of the 5
Centres are fully
operational. 1st Task
Force membership was
successfully piloted and
delivering positive
results.
Indicator B: At least 200 direct
beneficiaries trained within existing
network
Indicator C: At least 60%
employability rate on average per
year
Indicator D: At least 10% success
rate within entrepreneurship
component on average per year
The unemployed
in full-time
groups at
Centres continue
participation in
Phase 2 of the
Project
At least 200
direct
beneficiaries
successfully pass
the tailored
trainings and
coaching and
success rate for
employability of
60% and
entrepreneurship
of at least 10% is
achieved.
383 beneficiaries were
assisted in 2015 and
2016 in full-time groups
on job-seeking, out of
which
80% got employed;
60 beneficiaries were
assisted in full-time
groups on
entrepreneurship in
2016, out of which at
least 37% launched
their business and 18%
continue training
Indicator E: At least 50% women
participation in training activities on
average per year
At least 50% of
the direct
beneficiaries are
women.
73% female
participation in job-
seeking groups and
52% female
participation in
9
entrepreneurship
groups in 2016
Below are the quantitative results on both Project components.
A) JOB-SEEKING COMPONENT, including cumulative results for phases I and II of the Project:
Total
2013 2014 2015 2016 2013-2016
SYSLAB Center
31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Dec
People % Ppl % Ppl % Ppl %
Total Ppl
%
Chisinau Start date: Jul 1, 2013
Total Beneficiaries *19 people from 2013 continued in 2014 * 6 people from 2014 continued in 2015 * 5 people from 2015 continued in 2016 104 100% 131 100% 137 100% 107 100% 479 100%
2 Total positive results 68 65% 121 92% 129 94% 104 97% 422 88%
2.1 Employed 68 65% 121 92% 126 92% 103 96% 418 87%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 0 0% 3 2% 1 1% 4 1%
Rezina Start date: Apr 15, 2014
Total Beneficiaries *12 people from 2014 continued in 2015 * 3 people from 2015 continued in 2016 29 100% 62 100% 12 100% 103 100%
1 Continue training 12 41% 13 21% 0 0% - -
2 Total positive results 11 38% 57 92% 10 83% 78 76%
2.1 Employed 11 38% 43 69% 9 75% 63 61%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 14 23% 1 8% 15 15%
Cahul Start date: Sep 29, 2014
Total Beneficiaries *6 people from 2014 continued in 2015 * 8 people from 2015 continued in 2016 13 100% 64 100% 47 100% 124 100%
2 Total positive results 7 54% 44 69% 40 85% 91 73%
2.1 Employed 7 54% 42 66% 38 81% 87 70%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 2 3% 0 0% 2 2%
Balti Start date: March 2, 2015
10
Total Beneficiaries *18 people from 2015 continued in 2016 70 100% 67 100% 137 100%
2 Total positive results 47 67% 57 85% 104 76%
2.1 Employed 47 67% 53 79% 100 73%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 4 6% 4 3%
Comrat Start date: Apr 22, 2015
Total Beneficiaries *3 people from 2015 continued in 2016 49 100% 64 100% 113 100%
1 Continue training 12 63% 1 63% - 63%
2 Total positive results 42 86% 59 92% 101 89%
2.1 Employed 34 69% 59 92% 93 82%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 8 16% 0 0% 8 7%
Total Beneficiaries
Total Beneficiaries 104 100% 173 100% 382 100% 297 100% 956 100%
2 Total positive results 68 65% 139 80% 319 84% 270 89% 796 83%
2.1 Employed 68 65% 139 80% 292 76% 262 85% 761 80%
2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 0 0% 27 7% 6 3% 33 3%
As it can be seen from the indicators above, the Chisinau Centre continued with the highest
performance. The achieved rates of success are above the targets defined in the Project Document
(60%). Employability rates in regional centers are lower and reflecting the comparatively lower
employment opportunities outside Chisinau.
Below is the distribution of beneficiaries by target groups, gender and age. Figures cover the 2016 period and do not include the 87 beneficiaries who finalized training in 2015 and the 37 beneficiaries who continued training from 2015.
No. Participants classification
Balti Rezina Cahul Comrat Chisinau TOTAL %
Recruited SYSLAB full time group participants
49 9 38 61 102 259 100%
1 Target groups
1.1 Unemployed 31 6 9 36 88 170 66%
1.2 New graduates 13 1 26 17 9 66 25%
1.3 Returning migrants 5 2 3 8 5 23 9%
2 Gender classification of participants:
2.1 Female 36 8 31 40 74 189 73%
2.2 Male 13 1 7 21 28 70 27%
3 Youth (< 30 years) 24 3 28 31 35 121 47%
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A calculation of the average time spent by 1 beneficiary in a SYSLAB Centre was done by the project, based on the data collected from the Centres during 2013-2016, which show the following:
• A) Employed beneficiaries: 38,5 working days (<2 months)
• B) Business planning and/or self-employment : 71 working days (>3 months)
• C) Quit: 59 working days (~3 months)
B) ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPONENT
Below is the distribution of beneficiaries by target groups, gender and age. Figures refer to the
entrepreneurship beneficiaries in Q3-Q4 of 2016.
No. Participants classification
Balti Rezina Cahul Comrat Chisinau TOTAL %
1 SYSLAB full time group participants
16 7 4 22 11 60 100%
1.1 Continue participation 0 0 0 11 0 11 18%
1.2 Finished the program, did not start business
5 1 2 7 3 18 30%
1.3 Finished the program, started business
8 3 0 3 8 22 37%
1.4 - Awarded under Seed-Money Fund
7 3 0 3 6 19 32%
Quit 3 3 2 1 0 9 15%
2 Target groups:
2.1 Unemployed 7 3 2 14 6 32 53%
2.2 Employed 2 3 1 8 3 17 28%
2.3 Recent graduates 6 0 0 0 1 7 12%
2.4 Returning migrants 1 1 1 0 1 4 7%
3 Gender classification of participants:
3.1 Female 8 6 2 10 5 31 52%
3.2 Male 8 1 2 12 6 29 48%
3.3 Youth (< 30 years) 11 3 1 8 5 28 47%
19 beneficiaries received Seed-Fund support, based on competitive process, to start and run their
business. Out of 19 finalists, 9 are businesses led by women (47%).
Description of the other key results for the reporting period
Methodological coordination was undertaken through several means: A) establishment and
implementation of Task Force mechanism, B) organization of regular SYSLAB staff retreats (agendas,
presentations, follow-up reports can be provided upon request), C) weekly skype call meetings, D)
regular update and use of the shared folder on Google drive (the structure can be provided upon
request).
12
A) Task Force: The first Task Force team
was appointed and coordinated the
various aspects related to the work of the
Network of Centres during March -
August 2016 (6-month rotation period),
based on the mechanism set up by the
Project. The Task Force team members
appointed represented various Centres
and various position levels, e.g.
coordination position, employment,
entrepreneurship and admin/logistic
positions.
The main activities coordinated by the Task Force were:
1) Identifying the training needs at the level of the Network of Centres and submitting consolidated
training requests to Project Management. Taking active part in planning and organizing of at least 1
SYSLAB Staff Retreat.
2) Serving as an informational resource for the implementation of visibility and recruitment efforts
at the level of the Network of Centres and mapping the areas that need improvement.
3) Supporting the Centres in consolidation and validation of reports and files. Ensure observance of
the quality of reporting in each Centre.
4) Ensuring the SYSLAB training materials are adapted and delivered against a specific set of quality
indicators.
Several important findings and recommendations on behalf of the Task Force for improving the
work in the Centres were:
Individual approach, continuous monitoring of the process of identifying desirable workplace
leads to better results;
A greater responsibility for the development and implementation of individual employment plan
should be with beneficiaries.
Meetings between the former and present beneficiaries bring employment-related motivation
to present beneficiaries;
Providing regular feedback to the Employment Agency with regard to progress on registered
beneficiaries help on the consolidation of work relationships between SYSLAB Centres and
Employment Agencies.
B) SYSLAB Retreats have been organized twice per year, where the employment and
entrepreneurship specialists from all Centres met for 2-3 days to discuss common issues and identify
solutions, share best practices and also receive trainings on various topics, such as gender sensitive
communication, social entrepreneurship, using social media tools for visibility improvement, etc.
C) Weekly meetings were organized via skype, where progress on the Centre’s activities were shared
and main coordination issues discussed. The meetings were convened by the project management
and connected either coordinators, career advisors or entrepreneurship advisors.
Alumni meeting at the Chisinau SYSLAB Centre
13
D) Use of shared folder (Google Drive) improved communication at the level of the Network of
Centres and facilitated access to Centres’ information for project management team. The dedicated
shared space was updated periodically, with a clear and easy to navigate structure, as follows: 1)
training and coaching; 2) learning and knowledge; 3) recruitment, visibility and partnerships; 4)
reporting; 6) templates and programmatic documents.
Local networking and partnerships - in the 2nd phase of the Project, all 5 SYSLAB Centres continued
to explore the partnerships established in the Ist phase, and developed new partnerships with
institutions from various sectors: private, public, associative, academia.
The established partnerships
have served 3 purposes: 1) to
facilitate visibility and
recruitment of beneficiaries in
the Centres, both for job-seeking
and for entrepreneurship
support; 2) to maintain the
motivation of beneficiaries
during the training/coaching
period, where potential
employers deliver presentations
in Centres about the employment
opportunities, provide interview
simulations, and facilitated
company visits for the
beneficiaries both from job-seeking, as well as from entrepreneurship groups; 3) to facilitate
employment of beneficiaries, the Centres regularly sending out joint CVs and the employers
informing the Centres about the job openings.
The partnership with the National Employment Agency was advanced through amending the existing
Memorandum of Understanding to include the uptake of selected best practices from the Career
Centres in working with unemployed, with further adjustment of NEA curricula nationally.
The partnership with Cahul State University was strengthened through the inclusion of SYSLAB
methodology to be piloted in the University curricula level starting with January 2017 (2nd semester of
the 2016-2017 academic year). The leadership of the University is interested in keeping and extending
the employment support at the level of the University and make the assistance available not only for
graduates, but also for the entry level students. Unfortunately, given the cut of funding, respective
piloting may be jeopardized if resources to cover piloting costs will not be identified/mobilized.
Analysis of the subjective perception of unemployment – the Project, under a joint UNDP and
Cognitive Edge (UK) initiative, is collecting micro-narratives from unemployed women and men
throughout the country to better understand and make sense of the positive and negative
experiences of people in dealing with unemployment and generating additional ideas on how the
Project can improve/diversify the support to skilled unemployed. About 200 micro-narratives were
collected during a Job Fair organized during September 19-20. The project will continue the data
Development of presentation skills, SYSLAB Balti Centre
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collection and analysis of the micronarratives under the umbrella of the future Youth-centered skills
observatory and experimentation lab.
Development of the Smart Employment Planner – the Project started to co-develop a
computer/mobile application for skilled unemployed unable, for reasons of disability or similar, to
take part in SYSLAB trainings in the full-time groups. During 2016, technical specifications were
developed and procurement announcement launched, but which did not yield desirable results. The
competition was not extended given the uncertainty regarding further funding of the Project.
Visibility – the visibility of Project’s undertakings was ensured through various targeted interventions,
including presentations to direct and indirect beneficiaries at the premises of NEA and other public
and private institutions; participation to Job Fairs and public events organized by local authorities,
academia and private sector; distribution of announcements on relevant national and local web sites,
as well as social media web sites (including SYSLAB website (www.syslab.md Facebook page of each
Centre, other social media pages); production and dissemination of tailored video spots (new video
success stories are currently being developed for each Centre). Project related events and video
visibility products have been distributed through UN and UNDP web platforms (corporate web site,
UNDP and UN Facebook page, twitter, youtube, blogs, etc). In the reporting period, the dedicated
Web page for SYSLAB continued to be developed, serving as a tool for the unemployed to apply on-
line for the available support at the Centres; a platform to share success stories; and used by the
project management as tool to organize various surveys among unemployed (for instance, the Project
implemented an on-line registration form for the visitors of NEA youth employment fair organized in
May 2016, which provided live data about the visitors of the fair and their interest).
Visibility was also ensured through the participation of Centre specialists to TV or radio shows. Below
are several external links which showcase the participation, but more are available if requested:
SYSLAB Balti Centre at TV emission “Balti Hour” (“Ora Baltiului”) from March, 2016,
discussion about SYSLAB achievement during the first year of activity and the support
available for unemployed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1USKXGAWCek (starting
with min 1:10);
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SYSLAB Chisinau Centre at TV emission “European Vector” from October, 2015, reflecting
about the experience of the beneficiaries at the Centre and describing the assistance available
for skilled unemployed: http://vectoreuropean.md/vector-european-emisiune-din-5-10-
2015/ (starting with min 13:55).
Participation to job fairs and other
events as visibility tool - Staff in Career
Centers continued to actively participate
to all major job fairs organized by NEA,
TDC and other partners; delivered
presentations for the groups of
unemployed at NEA and in major
academic institutions with which MoUs
were signed at the Project level. In 2016,
SYSLAB Centres hosted UN debates,
this increasing the visibility of the
Centres.
Participation to UN Diversity Internship Program: In 2016, UN launched the 1st UN Diversity
Internship Program to promote diversity, equality and inclusion inside the UN system, offering
women and men from under-represented groups an opportunity to acquire the experience of work
with UN. The Network of Centres actively participated to this initiative, hosting 2 out of 9 interns,
both with Chisinau SYSLAB Centre. One person was with hearing impairments and another one was
blind. Both of them contributed to the implementation of the activities at SYSLAB Centre. The terms
of reference for their work can be accessed here: http://www.un.md/jobdetails/1242/ .
The creation of a SYSLAB Alumni community took place in 2016, with the 1st Alumni meetings
organized in each of the 5 SYSLAB Centres and gathering about 200 beneficiaries. Beside the
socializing part, which was important for the participants, one of the main purposes of the meeting
was to discuss possible ways of facilitating youth employment.
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SYSLAB Chisinau Alumni meeting, 21 December, 2016
Recommendations proposed by the participants, based on their experience in a SYSLAB Centre and
working experience after graduating:
Employers to adopt a higher transparency regarding job openings: medialization on social media;
focus the announcements rather on competences required for the position than on the years of
experience and educational level thus promoting youth employment;
Employers to organize open doors events, including for graduates;
Organize thematic job market events (fairs) for students, focused on the area of interests of the
employers: ex. textiles, IT, etc.;
Organize motivational flash-mobs to promote active youth employment (both for youth looking
for employment, as well as for the potential employers), thus preventing brain drain;
Universities to compile and share, with potential employers, the joint CV of students;
Develop youth capacities to adapt and adjust to the current labor market needs (this would be
through various SYSLAB modules implemented at the University level).
IV. Project Risks and Issues
Below is an update on the key risks associated with the implementation of the Project, as well as a list
with key issues that the project addressed during Project implementation period, with description of
actions taken in both cases.
a. Updated project risks and actions
Project Risk 1: Economic slowdown, diminishing number of available jobs on local market, particularly
in rural areas
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Actions taken: The Project developed a fully-fledged entrepreneurship program and recruiting a
dedicated staff in each Centre to implement Entrepreneurship Component. Existent partnerships with
private sector are being consolidated and explored as case studies by young entrepreneurs, new
partnerships are still to be identified and developed. The new companies created with the support from
SYSLAB Centres are a potential source of job offers for the job-seeking beneficiaries in Centres.
Project Risk 2: Limited access to finance for potential entrepreneurs willing to start-up a new business
Actions taken: Seed-money fund was established and successfully piloted in 2015 (second part of the
year), and fully implemented in 2016, through which 19 new entrepreneurs were supported in 2016 (and
5 entrepreneurs supported in 2015).
Project Risk 3: Financial sustainability of the Project/ ad-hoc discontinuation of financing
Actions taken: the risk for ad-hoc discontinuation of financing by the Donor was not anticipated and
UNDP is currently looking for resources to continue provision of support to direct beneficiaries in job-
seeking and entrepreneurship groups. UNDP has allocated resources for maintaining the reduced
network of Centres (Cahul was closed) and with a limited number of staff on board, during the 1st 3
months in 2017. The State University in Cahul is ready to uptake the Career Centre in Cahul and continue
the implementation of job-seeking activities at the level of the University. Thus, during the last board
meeting (31.01.2017), the members approved the transfer of assets and methodology to Cahul University,
against their written commitment to run the Center on its own for at least several additional years.
The methodology on job-seeking support is to be transferred by SYSLAB International, the owner, to the
Ministry of Economy, as per the contract and termination notification submitted by UNDP to SYSLAB
International in December 2016.
The minutes of the board meeting is attached (Annex 2) for reference to more decisions related to the
transfer of assets vesting with SYSLAB Centres and job-seeking methodology.
b. Updated project issues and actions
Project Issue 1: Implementation of SYSLAB methodology – exchange of best practices
Actions taken: The Project team organizes weekly skype meetings with the Coordinators of Centres,
including thematic meetings, to facilitate knowledge sharing. In 2016, thematic meeting started to be
organized with entrepreneurship advisors. The Task Force was piloted with success.
Project Issue 2: Recruitment of direct beneficiaries in the regions remains problematic
Actions taken: Management of the project is strengthening the relationships with the National
Employment Agency (NEA) to increase recruitment through NEA. Centres organized informal meetings
(SYSLAB Cafes) with the key partners to intensify visibility and recruitment efforts. Yearly SYSLAB
Alumni meetings were planned and the 1st meeting was successfully organized in 2016.
V. Lessons Learned
The key lessons learned are summarized as follows:
A) Ensuring synergies among UNDP Projects, and also among UN Agencies, create benefits for people. For instance: - SYSLAB Project Management contributed with inputs coming from
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the field experience towards the drafting of the future Moldova National Employment Strategy (MiDL Project) - beneficiaries in SYSLAB Centres benefited from business trainings delivered under LED Project; - LED board of business mentors contributed with knowledge and expertise to the development of SYSLAB Entrepreneurship Program; - SYSLAB support was presented to IOM returning students; - women migrants beneficiaries in SYSLAB Centres participated in trainings and workshops organized by UN Women; - SYSLAB Comrat Centre is exploring the partnerships under the Support to Agriculture and Rural Development Project.
B) Implementation of various experiments create ground for scalability. At least 3 experiments were tested and are scalable: 1) transfer of best practices of working with unemployed to NEA, the latest being interested to scale up the working practices at the national level. Thus, a transfer of applicable best practices is done, based on which NEA will revise its curricula of working with unemployed and will implement a Randomized Controlled Trial on measuring the impact of such curricula on selected up to 10, out of 35, regional employment offices. 2) implementation of scholarship for young graduates proved successful and which can be scaled up at the level of all Universities. 3) On-line and real-time registration of visitors to the public Job Fair, tested during NEA youth Job Fair in May 2016, gave a view on the profile and the interest of the visitors and which is to be used for improving the organization and offer during next Job Fairs to be organized by public services. The report on this experiment and other mentioned above will be submitted upon request.
C) Development and exploration of partnerships is important and has 3-sided benefits: recruitment, motivation during training period, and employment. The partnerships at local level, especially with academia, private sector and employment agencies, substantially increase employability chances for the direct beneficiaries and is crucial for successful implementation of SYSLAB activities. Improvements in the collaboration with local unemployment agencies are needed by further linking work plans of the centres and respective units of NEA.
D) Increased access to SYSLAB assistance to marginalized groups of people: the project covered local transportation costs for a person with disabilities to attend the trainings at Balti Centre. Further actions are needed to ensure access of participants from villages (for instance, in Balti and Comrat Centres about 70% of beneficiaries travel to the Centre from nearby villages).
E) Recruitment of Centre’ beneficiaries – rigorous selection of beneficiaries is key to successful program completion and requires time and good planning. Usually recruitment questionnaire is not enough to understand the motivation of aspiring beneficiaries. The best way is to discuss face-to-face with candidates about interests and motivation, period of unemployment and availability of time to participate in full-time group. In many cases, especially in the regions, unemployed are more motivated to keeping their currents status and receive unemployment allowances. For the entrepreneurship groups recruitments, rigorous selection criteria have been set, and a pre-recruitment training is implemented to help the candidates understand and boost their entrepreneurial motivation.
F) Motivation of Centres’ beneficiaries is important to achieve faster and better employability as well as start-up results. Motivation of beneficiaries as ensured along the network of Centres through various instruments, including: presentations to beneficiaries from employers; sharing success stories from past beneficiaries; closer monitoring of the implementation of individual employment plan; follow-up on the employment results in the post-training phase.
G) Visibility of Project’s undertaking and employability results – the most effective and efficient channel for dissemination of the results and increasing the attractiveness and access to SYSLAB Centres is through ensuring peer-to-peer communication, whereby current and past beneficiaries spread the word on the advantages of undertaking SYSLAB courses to get
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relevant employment. Development and communication of success stories has increased the visibility results and trust in the offered support, but more active communication of success stories is encouraged. Participation to the Job Fairs has proved very efficient, especially for Chisinau Centre. Broadcasting of video and audio spots is also resultative.
H) Communication – recruitment and other announcements shall be tailored depending on the needs of the specific groups of beneficiaries; communication and interaction with key partners can also be improved by piloting joint initiatives with mutual benefits. Presentation of Centres’ assistance shall be innovative and exclude theoretical information about Centres’ creation and operation.
The key challenges from the implementation of the Project are:
1. Deteriorating conditions on the local labor market and low wages in some sectors; in the recent years the number of jobs available for skilled unemployed remained stable low; only about 25-26% of all vacancies are available for unemployed with higher education, all the rest being technical jobs that do not require university degree.
2. Motivation of unemployed in rural areas to get a job or start-up a business is volatile; unemployed from rural areas and from municipalities other than the capital city of Chisinau are generally less motivated to get a job or start-up a new business. In the latter case, poor infrastructure, expensive loans, corruption and other factors have an important role to play.
3. Migration of skilled workforce abroad is one of the exit strategies for skilled unemployed who cannot find a relevant and decently remunerated job at home; this is particularly true in the case of rural inhabitants.
VI. Conclusions and Way Forward
Overall, in the reporting period, the network of the existing SYSLAB centers delivered very good results. Cumulatively, for the 2016 period, the employability rate exceeded the initially planned target for Phase 2 of the project. All Centres had the task to maximize utilization of available resources through increasing the number of people beneficiaries from the support available at the Centres.
The Project was able to adapt to the changing conditions on the labor market by introducing a new self-employment component and ensuring better access of beneficiaries to finance through the innovative seed-fund. Moreover, the analyzed unemployment-related stories/micronarratives from unemployed revealed than an improvement or diversification of the spectrum of trainings and coaching activities to be provided to end-users is needed, along with diversification of the local partnerships, and piloting of the new initiatives. In 2016-2017 academic year, the Project received approval from the Ministry of Education to pilot selective SYSLAB modules on the university curriculum at the State University in Cahul. As financing for the Project was cut, the University is looking into possibilities to implement such courses and even extend the spectrum of the services.
Based on the results and experience yielded from the implementation of the Network of Career Advisory Centres in Moldova Project, as well as insights from the collected micronarratives from unemployed, UNDP managed to raise funds to implement an experimental skills observatory in 2017, as well as to run a Randomized Controlled Trial with the National Employment Agency on piloting an improved curriculum of working with registered unemployed. The implementation of respective initiatives would be easier with the contribution of the Network of Career Centres.
The next steps on continuation of activity at the Centres, approved by the board on 31.01.2017, are:
- Financing: UNDP provided 3 months funding for 3 out of 5 centers in 2017 (Chisinau, Balti and Rezina) and the Ministry of Economy committed to co-finance operations till the end of 2017 to ensure sustainability and opportunities to mobilize other donors.
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- Assets transfer: the SYSLAB IPSAS assets (with value per item above 1,500USD) to be temporarily transferred from SYSLAB to LED Project, with resource allocation. All assets from the Cahul Centre are to be transferred to Cahul University against their written commitment to run the Center on its own for at least several additional years; all assets from Comrat Centre to be transferred to SARD (EU funded) Project balance as the Centre is being supported from the respective Project till the end of 2018.
- Methodology transfer: The Ministry of Economy to accept the rights over the SYSLAB methodology from the owner- SYSLAB International and further grant the rights of usage to B.P. Hasdeu Cahul University for the piloting of selective SYSLAB courses onto the public curriculum; grant rights to UNDP for further implementation of the methodology in the existing Career Development Centres, including to SARD project for its implementation at Comrat Centre; and to the National Employment Agency in view of the modernization of the public employment promotion services.
VII. Financial Status
Financial Report for 2015 and Financial Report for 2016 are attached to this Narrative Report as Annex III (2015) and Annex IV (2016).
All reports are an extract of UNDP financial records.
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