Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine’s labour market has undergone significant changes. Labour shortage has deepened, the employment landscape has shifted, and there is a growing need to support and integrate internally displaced Ukrainians, veterans, women, and people aged 50+ into the workforce.

Job fairs are an effective way to connect employers, jobseekers, and the State Employment Service. They also help participants learn about vocational training and retraining opportunities, training vouchers, grant programmes, and other employment support measures.

Within the framework of the Inclusive Employment project, we have developed a Checklist for organizing inclusive career fairs to help employment centers implement successful practices for running such events in three formats: online, offline, and hybrid.

The checklist provides guidance on how to plan effectively, what to consider during preparation and implementation, how to engage employers, and how to ensure accessibility for different groups. In addition, it includes methodological recommendations and practical tools for ensuring barrier-free participation, inclusive communication, risk management, and evaluating event effectiveness.

Authors:

• Olena Vertynska – certified business trainer, career guidance specialist, founder of the NGO All About Work, HR specialist at the Dream Country Charity Foundation, and author of employment programmes
• Dmytro Vilhaniuk – clinical psychologist, certified consultant in Positive Psychotherapy according to Peseschkian, consultant in personnel management, recruitment, and career development
• Ulyana Kolodii – founder of the communication agency u.comms, a professional community and training course, trainer, reputation management consultant, and member of the Expert Council on Barrier-Free Communication

The document will be useful for managers and specialists of the State Employment Service responsible for organising job fairs and engaging with employers; career counsellors; employers’ representatives, HR specialists and recruiters; representatives of state authorities and local self-government bodies, educational institutions, and civil society organisations.

The Inclusive Employment Project is being implemented by East Europe Foundation within the framework of the Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery, which is financed by the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Denmark, and is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL)