More than 6 million people have fled across Ukraine’s borders following Russia’s invasion, with the vast majority heading to neighbouring EU countries. Those arriving are largely women, children and elderly. Many newcomers are now sole caregivers, meaning that care services may be a precondition for their entrance into EU labour markets, pointing to specific challenges for the integration process. 

While the potential length of stay of Ukrainian refugees in their host countries is uncertain, many of the working-age adults will seek to work during their stay. In general, refugees face specific labor market integration challenges, if compared with other migrants. 

Related to other refugees, Ukrainian refugees have some characteristics that facilitate their integration prospects (e.g. educational profile, existing social networks, immediate access to employment), while others may, on the contrary, hinder them (many are single mothers with children and other dependents). 

Highly educated refugees trained abroad face difficulties in having their qualifications recognised and valued on host country labour markets. These markets tend to devalue foreign qualifications, which affects employment, leads to over-qualification and reduces wages

The objective of SINTONIA is to identify relevant funding opportunities and create respective project proposal to stimulate social entrepreneurship among Internally Displaced Persons and refugees arriving in programme countries from Ukraine, creating a strategic approach to support the inclusionof the target group