The Employment Service is evolving to better support women, internally displaced persons, veterans, and individuals aged 50+, given new challenges. To better understand the daily routine of the employment service centers and identify areas for improvement, East Europe Foundation assisted six regional employment centers in conducting a self-assessment, using the European CAF model as part of the Inclusive Employment Project. 

Those were the Zakarpattia, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Kyiv, and Cherkasy regional employment centers. 

What CAF is and why it is important for the Employment Service 

CAF (Common Assessment Framework) is a quality management system based on the Excellence Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It is used by authorities in EU countries to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their performance in all areas, from leadership and processes to impact on people and society. 

The CAF model covers nine criteria: 

• Leadership 
• Strategy and planning 
• Personnel 
• Partnerships and resources 
• Processes 
• Results for service users 
• Results for personnel 
• Social responsibility results 
• Key performance results 

Assessment participants analyze their performance against each of the criteria, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and then design a plan covering specific steps to introduce changes. 

The process was coordinated by experts from the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union. The Center functions as the Ukrainian National CAF Resource Center.

Strengths that regional employment centers showed 

Following the self-assessment, six regional employment centers showed a number of current strengths they use to improve the quality of services for job seekers and employers. Those were: 

• Value-based leadership and strategy compliance. The centers’ priorities are transparency, inclusion, and focus on people’s needs. 
• Client-oriented approach via digitalization. E-services are being developed: e-accounts, remote consultations, online applications, and other tools to simplify interaction with the Employment Service. 
• Establishment of partnerships. The centers consistently cooperate with authorities, employers, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders. 
• Data-driven management. Teams conduct monitoring and audits. They also use data to make decisions. 
• Personnel development. Employees have access to learning opportunities and can join training and mentoring programs. 

Key self-assessment data 

Some CAF self-assessment results of the regional employment centers prove that the system changes from within: 

• In 2025, over 70% of mid-level management positions were held by women. This indicates a significant role of women in the employment service management and decision-making. 
• Over 90% of employees took digital literacy and cybersecurity courses. This is important for secure data management and effective use of electronic services. 
• Over 230,000 vacancies are available on digital platforms. Thus, job seekers have wider access to opportunities throughout different regions and industries. 
• Almost 100 licensed occupations and areas are available in vocational education centers. This enhances opportunities both for retraining and advanced training. 
• The average job search time for in-demand professions was reduced by 15% thanks to the use of interactive vacancy maps. 
• Over 92% of the unemployed use electronic accounts, which significantly reduces the administrative burden on centers’ employees and simplifies access to their services. 

Common challenges: what needs improvement 

The CAF self-assessment helped not only to register achievements, but also to outline common areas where the six regional centers require further development. These include: 

• Development of strategy and analytics: the need for more detailed medium- and long-term forecasts to account for changes in the labor market. 
• Partnerships with common indicators (KPIs). It is crucial to develop cooperation with partners and share the same goals/performance indicators with them. 
• Further implementation of innovations and digitalization: the introduction of new solutions, services, and tools to deal with job seekers and employers. 
• Development of personnel competencies and potential.  

The results became the basis of self-improvement plans for each of the six regional employment centers. These plans will assist employment centers in enhancing the quality of services, managing resources more efficiently, implementing a more consistent approach to assessing performance, and better preparing the State Employment Service system for the requirements of Ukraine’s future membership in the EU. 

About the Inclusive Employment Project 

The CAF Self-Assessment is part of the Inclusive Employment Project, which is implemented by East Europe Foundation in cooperation with the State Employment Service. The project is intended to strengthen the capacity of 18 employment centers to support internally displaced persons, women, veterans, and individuals aged 50+ seeking employment. 

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).