Our impact, their voices
“Now I fend for myself, this makes a big difference”
The ILO wage subsidy programme supports employers who recruit and train young people, helping them to enter the labour market.
VERESHCHAGINO, Perm Territory, Russian Federation (ILO News) – Marina Larina, 20, and Nikolai Tiunov, 22, know only too well how difficult it is to find a job if you are young and, in addition, live in a small town, like Vereshchagino.
They applied for many jobs but never managed to get them.
However, in a small town news spreads fast. Marina’s aunt told her about an International Labour Organization project that provides wage subsidies to local employers and helps young people find a job. Nikolay was referred to the project by the local employment centre.
“The wage subsidy programme is one of the innovative active labour market measures piloted under the ILO project Partnerships for Youth Employment in the Commonwealth of Independent States,” says Mikhail Pouchkin, Senior Employment Specialist at the ILO Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “The project, which is a unique public-private partnership with the Russian company LUKOIL, seeks to improve the effectiveness of youth employment policies and programmes and to tackle youth employment challenges. By subsidizing the wages of young workers, we open up new opportunities for them and demonstrate to employers that young workers are motivated and committed and that they represent a valuable asset for their companies. An important feature of this pilot was the selection of Alexandre Ruchkin, 27, local resident and wheelchair user, as the programme coordinator responsible for linking employers, job seekers and the Public Employment Service.”
After enrolling in the ILO programme, Marina found work as a full time as salad packer at a local small company and now has a stable income. Before joining the wage subsidy programme, she had graduated from the local vocational college as an accountant. She wants to work in this field eventually but simply having a job, and possibly an opportunity to grow professionally, is important for her now.
As for Nikolay, he is now employed at Vereshchagino Heating Systems and is also training as a maintenance technician.
They applied for many jobs but never managed to get them.
However, in a small town news spreads fast. Marina’s aunt told her about an International Labour Organization project that provides wage subsidies to local employers and helps young people find a job. Nikolay was referred to the project by the local employment centre.
“The wage subsidy programme is one of the innovative active labour market measures piloted under the ILO project Partnerships for Youth Employment in the Commonwealth of Independent States,” says Mikhail Pouchkin, Senior Employment Specialist at the ILO Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “The project, which is a unique public-private partnership with the Russian company LUKOIL, seeks to improve the effectiveness of youth employment policies and programmes and to tackle youth employment challenges. By subsidizing the wages of young workers, we open up new opportunities for them and demonstrate to employers that young workers are motivated and committed and that they represent a valuable asset for their companies. An important feature of this pilot was the selection of Alexandre Ruchkin, 27, local resident and wheelchair user, as the programme coordinator responsible for linking employers, job seekers and the Public Employment Service.”
After enrolling in the ILO programme, Marina found work as a full time as salad packer at a local small company and now has a stable income. Before joining the wage subsidy programme, she had graduated from the local vocational college as an accountant. She wants to work in this field eventually but simply having a job, and possibly an opportunity to grow professionally, is important for her now.
As for Nikolay, he is now employed at Vereshchagino Heating Systems and is also training as a maintenance technician.