PROGRESS REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Project Title Innovative Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Employment Country Republic of Moldova Donor SYSLAB International AS Reporting Period January 18, 2013 –August 31, 2015 Project ID 00072006 (Atlas Award ID) Outputs 00085236 (Atlas Project ID and Description) Implementing Partner(s) Ministry of Economy, National Employment Agency Project Start Date 01.01.2013 Project End Date 31.12.2015 2013-2015 Annual Work Plan 1,001,568.00 USD Budget Revenue received  Regular 120,000 USD  Other o Donor SI 580,374.00USD o Other (UK Government) 119,940.00USD  Total 820,314.00 USD Unfunded budget 181,254.00 USD (out of which 171,120.00 USD is the last tranche of the CSA with SYSLAB International, the transfer of which was cancelled by SYSLAB International, and 10,060.00 USD is the exchange rate loss at the transfer of the UK funds) Expenditures for January 2013 – 677,365 USD September 2015

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Table of Content

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 3 II. BACKGROUND ...... 3 III. PROGRESS REVIEW ...... 3 IV. PROJECT RISKS AND ISSUES ...... 10 A. UPDATED PROJECT RISKS AND ACTIONS ...... 10 B. UPDATED PROJECT ISSUES AND ACTIONS ...... 10 V. LESSONS LEARNED ...... 11 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD ...... 12 VII. FINANCIAL STATUS ...... 13

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I. Executive summary During Project implementation period, five Career Development Centres were opened, compared to four Centres initially envisaged. Overall, opened employability centres almost reached the planned target of 80% employability rate as indicated in Project Document, with higher rate of employment at Chisinau Centre (87%) and regional Centres reaching an average employment rate of 52-74%. The employability component was the main focus of the Project which managed to fully implement the SYSLAB methodology throughout the existing/established SYSLAB centres in Chisinau, Cahul, Rezina, Balti and Comrat. The Business Planning Seminar was delivered by SYSLAB Norway colleagues to staff of all employability centres. Furthermore, the consolidation of entrepreneurship component was done through delivery of ToTs on entrepreneurship to SYSLAB staff in all centres and initiation of a seed-money fund to be jointly implemented by the Project and Starnet SA. The first entrepreneurship/start-up group of beneficiaries was started in the Comrat center and it received tailored training and coaching from specialised consultants on planning and initiation of own business. Major concerns are related to: the employability results in the regional SYSLAB centres where certain difficulties were encountered as it regards the motivation of unemployed to get a relevant job, relatively limited job offers and salaries, and migration of work force abroad. The Project encountered certain delays in launching regional centres, in particular that of Balti, where substantial and costly renovation works were required. Recruitment of staff for regional centres proved extremely problematic due to specific conditions of the local labour market and limited applications from potential candidates. For the upcoming extension period the Project plans to further consolidate the entrepreneurship component in each of the regional centres through further trainings on self-employment and piloting of the seed-money fund, so that to better respond to the needs of the end-users/beneficiaries and their propensity to launch micro-enterprises.

II. Background Overall, the project was designed to contribute to the development, adaptation and implementation of new tools (technology and methods) for career development, job search and entrepreneurship in Moldova. Based on the provisions of the SYSLAB Project Document, the Project envisaged achieving the following specific objectives: Provide new technologies to labour market authorities; Provide motivated labour force to private and public sectors; Give graduates a better chance for relevant employment in Moldova; Give unemployed improved employability.

The assistance offered by the Career Centres focus on below target beneficiaries: recent graduates, in order to prevent them from unemployment and to create job opportunities, and hence reduce/prevent brain-drain; unemployed, irrespective of age, gender, ethnic background or education or work experience; and returning migrants.

On an annual basis, the SYSLAB Centres shall deliver on the below quantitative targets, but based on the de-facto capacities of each of the employability centres: SYSLAB-training up to 120 persons Job training up to 200 persons Entrepreneurship training up to 60 persons Simple subject courses up to 120 persons Individual programs up to 150-300 persons

III. Progress Review During the reporting period, the Project achieved the following key results, by key components:

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Establishment of SYSLAB Centres

SYSLAB Centers in Chisinau, Rezina, Cahul, Balti, and Comrat were established and are fully functional. The 1st Centre was opened in Chisinau in June, 2013 and is the most experienced in terms of SYSLAB methodology implementation, serving as a knowledge sharing resource for other Centres established later in four regions of Moldova (Rezina – April, 2014, Cahul – September, 2014, Balti – March, 2015, Comrat – April, 2015). The Career Centres were fully equipped with needed equipment and furniture, required renovation works were done, and running costs covered on a monthly basis. Each regional Centre is run by a team of 3 staff members: Coordinator, Career Advisor, and Assistant. Chisnau Centre is run by 5 staff members: Coordinator, 2 Career Advisors, and 2 Assistants. Host institutions for the Centres are as follow: Chisinau: "ARIA” Competitiveness and Productivity Centre of Moldova (Ministry of Economy) Rezina: Business Incubator, ODIMM (SME Development Agency, Ministry of Economy) Balti: “Raut” Industrial Park Cahul: “B.P.Hasdeu” State University from Cahul, Moldova Comrat: Gymnasium no.2, Mayoralty of Comrat The capacity of the Centres, which represents the number of working places available for beneficiaries and staff of the Centres, is the following: Chisinau – 35 working places; Cahul – 23; Comrat – 23; Balti – 30; Rezina – 13. Total number of working places: 124, out of which 107 places are available for direct beneficiaries and the rest for the professional staff in such centers.

Recruitment and employment of beneficiaries

From the establishment of the 1st Centre in June 2013 till nowadays, recruitment and employment of the beneficiaries in SYSLAB Chisinau, Rezina, Cahul, Balti, and Comrat Centres yielded quite positive and promising results. A total of 493 beneficiaries received support in full-time groups by 31 August 2015, out of which 387 beneficiaries (78%) got employed, 20 beneficiaries (4%) developed a detailed business plan, and other 41 beneficiaries (8%) continue searching for relevant job, or planning his/her business planning. Therefore, the planned target of 80% employability average rate was almost achieved, with results in Chisinau exceeding the expectations and those in regional centres being lower than planned.

Self-Employment or Business Planning

During the reporting period, the staff of the Centres (except Balti Centre) received focussed ToTs on entrepreneurship development and business planning from national specialised experts, Comrat being the 1st Centre to start (pilot) the 1st full-time group attending exclusively the trainings on entrepreneurship development.

The detailed results achieved during the reporting period are listed below:

The below table shows the cumulated data on the full time groups beneficiaries in all 5 established SYSLAB Centres:

2013 2014 2015 Total SYSLAB Center 31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Aug 31-Aug-15 Total People % People % People % % People

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Chisinau Start date: Jul 1, 2013 Total Beneficiaries *19 people from 2013 continued in 2014 *6 people from 2014 continued in 2015 104 100% 131 100% 98 100% 308 100% 2 Total positive results 68 65% 121 92% 82 84% 271 88% 2.1 Employed 68 65% 121 92% 80 82% 269 87% 2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 0 0% 2 2% 2 1% Rezina Start date: Apr 15, 2014 Total Beneficiaries *12 people from 2014 continued in 2015 29 100% 46 100% 63 100% 2 Total positive results 11 38% 35 76% 46 73% 2.1 Employed 11 38% 27 59% 38 60% 2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 8 17% 8 13% Cahul Start date: Sep 29, 2014 Total Beneficiaries *6 people from 2014 continued in 2015 13 100% 47 100% 54 100% 2 Total positive results 7 54% 31 66% 38 70% 2.1 Employed 7 54% 29 62% 36 67% 2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 2 4% 2 4% Balti Start date: March 2, 2015 Total Beneficiaries 39 100% 39 100% 2 Total positive results 29 74% 29 74% 2.1 Employed 29 74% 29 74% 2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 0 0 Comrat Start date: Apr 22, 2015 Total Beneficiaries 29 100% 29 100% 2 Total positive results 23 79% 23 79% 2.1 Employed 15 52% 15 52%

2.2 Individual Business Plans 8 35% 8 35% SYSLAB Cumulative Results Total Beneficiaries 104 100% 173 100% 259 100% 493 100% 2 Total positive results 68 65% 139 80% 200 77% 407 83% 2.1 Employed 68 65% 139 80% 180 69% 387 78%

2.2 Individual Business Plans 0 0% 0 0% 20 8% 20 4% Note: The average rate of employment per Centres represents 68%.

From the indicators above, it may be concluded that Chisinau Centre has reached the highest performance, with the success rate of 88% (87% - employment results and 1% - completed the individual business plan). This achieved rate of success is above the targeted rate as per the Project Document. Staff in Chisinau Centre also provided introductory training on SYSLAB methodology implementation to Rezina, Balti, and Cahul Centres’ staff, as well as continuing coaching on daily

5 implementation of methodology and validation of activity results of regional Centres. Comrat Centre received methodology training in Cahul Centre.

Key performance indicators on employability in Rezina and Cahul are not yet fully satisfactory, despite consolidated efforts of the Project to streamline recruitment and training of full-time beneficiaries in employment groups and the extension of the assistance provided by Rezina Centre to unemployed with technical and collegial degrees. Also, the results show that there is a higher interest in entrepreneurship training in Rezina. Actual and many potential direct beneficiaries in Rezina Centre are very much interested in starting up and running a business, rather than searching for rather limited job offerings. Thus, the entrepreneurship component and related training and seed-money support shall be further developed and implemented.

Results for Cahul Centre are satisfactory, with further mobilisation needed on improvement of recruitment through targeted communication tools and new partnerships. Previously established partnerships with local stakeholders, local public authorities, as well as host institution - Cahul State University, are good and are to be further consolidated. As the employability targets are not yet fully met, with further support from the Project, the local team should be able to register better results.

Balti SYSLAB Centre started 1st group in March, 2015 and the fist indicators are quite encouraging. The team of the Centre managed to establish partnerships with local Employment Agency, local State University, as well as with the biggest private entities who are potential employers. The Centre hosted several presentations on behalf of the private partners, including the Project partner – StarNet, which were motivational for the actual and potential beneficiaries of the Centre.

Comrat Centre was the last Centre to start operating in Moldova and created with UK Embassy financial support. By end of August, 2015, the staff of the Centre received ToT on entrepreneurship from a team of 2 national experts. The activity of the Centre is encouraging and the 1st group on entrepreneurship started in July, 2015, with 10 beneficiaries in full-time group finished developing the business plans for their own business and preparing the submission to the seed-money fund competition to be organised in September-October 2015.

The below figures represent segregation of beneficiaries into target group categories, gender and age No. Participants classification % SYSLAB full time group participants 100% 1. Target groups 1.1 Unemployed 67% 1.2 Recent graduates 22% 1.3 Emigrants 11% 2. Gender classification of participants: 2.1 Female 68% 2.2 Male 32% 3. Youth (< 30 years) 53%

Below figure reflects the division of employed beneficiaries by sectors of employment:

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Employment by sectors Employment sector by

Public Private Associative Centre

7% 200 150 100 Public 30% 50 Private 63% 0 Associative

Description of the other key results

Methodological coordination – management of the Project developed an internal procedure on transfer of methodology from the Chisinau centre to other centres in the network. Such procedure has worked very well and provided the needed framework for the piloting of the SYSLAB methodology in the regions and consistency of recruitment and visibility efforts. Nevertheless, during continuous work of the Centres and daily implementation of methodology, the Project management identified the need to develop further procedures on monitoring and evaluation of the methodology implementation, including, but not limited to the development and adjustment of business cases used for delivering daily trainings, identification and implementation of new recruitment and employment tools (such as Career Navigator), improvement of reporting on Centre’s results, which should be part of the new phase of the Project.

Local networking and partnerships – the Project ensured the development and implementation of memorandums of understanding with some key relevant public and private institutions to further promote the objectives of the Project, ensure smooth recruitment and increase employability of direct beneficiaries. In the reporting period, the Project entered into such agreement with the National Employment Agency -NEA (to facilitate recruitment of beneficiaries from those registered with the Agency), State University in Cahul (where the SYSLAB Center is established), Mayoralty of Comrat (based on which the Mayoralty offered free of rental payment spaces at the premises of School no.2, and support with the visibility and establishing the partnerships for the Centre), STARNET SA (for the creation and implementation of a pilot seed-money fund for entrepreneurship promotion), NEXUS (to facilitate in reaching out to returning migrants). At local level, management of regional centres was quite active in establishing and consolidating local partnerships. Staff in Chisinau Center, as well as regional centres, actively participated to all major job fairs by NEA and other partners, delivered presentations for the groups of unemployed at NEA and in major academic institutions with which MoUs were signed previously. The center in Chisinau established important links to some major private sector companies, including Orange SA, MedPark, Introscop, MobiasBanca, among others. In Rezina, the staff of the Centre established partnership with NEA Șoldănești and Rezina, Rayon Councils Rezina and Șoldănești, Ciment Lafarge SA Human Resources department, and incubents from Rezina Business Incubator. In Cahul, partnership relationships were established with local private sector, existing business associations and local academia. Balti Centre, since March 2015 established successful partnerships with the biggest private entities Electromanufacturing, Draxlmaier Automotive, Sarob, Lactalis - Alba, Eximbank – Gruppo Veneto Banca, as well as good partnerships established with the State University from Balti and NEA Balti. Comrat Centre, since April 2015

7 established partnerships with Gagauzia branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NGO’s Business Women Association and Pro-Europa, with other partnerships to be further developed. The Chisinau SYSLAB Centre has been coordinating daily transfer and implementation of methodology to Rezina, Cahul, Balti, and Comrat SYSLAB Centers.

Entrepreneurship component – in the reporting period the entrepreneurship component of the Project was consolidated and the capacities of the staff to train and coach participants enhanced. A pilot seed-money fund was initiated to support the creation of innovative business start-ups by direct beneficiaries in SYSLAB centres. Small matching grants of up to 3,000 USD are available to beneficiaries. By end of 2015, the target is to pilot the fund and create at least 15 new business start- ups in Chisinau and the regions. Announcement for participants to apply to the fund is placed in all SYSLAB centres and the 1st round of business plans competition is planned to be organised in September-October 2015. The staff of all running SYSLAB centres received additional tailored trainings on entrepreneurship to be better prepared to train and coach participants willing to start-up their own businesses. Comrat Centre was the first Centre to support the 1st group on entrepreneurship as of July, 2015, the beneficiaries being selected based on specific set of criteria developed by the independent national expert.

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 organised by local authorities, production and dissemination of posters, banners, leaflets, mediatisation of events and results vis social media (including SYSLAB Facebook page of each Centre, as well as odnoklasniki page of Rezina Centre); production and dissemination of tailored audio and video spots (disseminated and under dissemination, including free-of-charge, by several local media, including ProTV, TRM, Publika, Jurnal TV, Euro TV). Project related events and video visibility products have been distributed through UN and UNDP web platforms (dedicated web sites, Facebook page, twitter, youtube, blogs, etc). In the reporting period, a dedicated Web page for SYSLAB was developed and functional, giving the opportunity to unemployed to apply on-line for the available support at the Centres. The web page is available in Romanian language, with Russian and English versions under development. The SYSLAB Centre in Cahul piloted the Info Points initiative, aiming at increasing access of potential beneficiaries to information about the services provided in SYSLAB centres and was successfully upscaled by other regional Centres. Development and communication of success stories started to be explored by all Centres in 2015, these being communicated in newspapers and web platforms. Actually, the visibility efforts are further developed, including development of new promotion video- spots for each regional centre, production of visibility materials (business cases, notebooks, USBs, umbrellas, etc), and further exploration of success stories communication.

Below is an estimation of the efficiency of space utilisation in Centres:

Centre’s Average cost capacity Total nr. of The average per working SYSLAB Space (nr. of beneficiaries rate of place/ Centre utilization* working assisted employment month**, places) USD 87% Chisinau 30 308 120% 221 (+1% B.P)

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60% Rezina 10 63 120% 371 (+13% B.P) 67% Cahul 20 54 67% 186 (+4% B.P) Balti 27 39 74% 97% 155 52% Comrat 20 29 120% 190 (+35% B.P) 493 78% TOTAL/ 107 387 empl. 225 average (+4% B.P) +20 B.P * Total number of people served, divided to the maximum capacity of the Centre, considering that 1 beneficiary stays at the Centre 4 full months. ** the costs include: Centre’s salaries, maintenance costs, minimum office supplies and local transportation needs, cost recovery and GMS (7%). costs not included: equipment, furniture, renovation, salaries for the overall project management, development and distribution of video materials, etc.

PROGRESS TOWARDS PROJECT OUTPUTS

OUTPUT 1: Chisinau Training Centre and five regional training centres are operational using SYSLAB Methodology to promote employment and entrepreneurship among unemployed persons. Output Indicators Baseline Target Current status

There is no centre Chisinau, Rezina, Chisinau, Rezina, for employment, Cahul and Balti Cahul, Balti, and entrepreneurship Centers are fully Comrat and SME operational and employability Facilities and qualified personnel in place development using SYSLAB centres are fully based on this methodology operational and innovative delivering results concept

Centres in Chisinau, Rezina, Cahul, Valti, and Comrat are delivering employability and self-employability results. The overall There is no centre Chisinau, Rezina, capacity of the for employment, Cahul and Balti centres to host entrepreneurship Centers are fully direct beneficiaries and SME operational and Number of job seekers employed as the result of participation in SYSLAB at a time is 107 development using SYSLAB methodology (target 80% per cohort) working stations, based on this methodology with the overall innovative estimated capacity concept of 451 full-time participants since the establishment of each Centre. Expected employability target was set at 80% (i.e. 361 persons employed). The

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July 2013-August 2015 employability results are – 387 persons.

The Project ensured opening and running of five career advisory centres, i.e. Chisinau (30 working places), Rezina (10 working places), Cahul (20 working places), Balti (27 working places), and Comrat (20 working places). The establishment of the fifth centre in Comrat (UTA Gagauzia), not planned under the initial project budget, was done with funds additionally mobilised by UNDP and provided by the UK Government. Opening of SYSLAB Centres was slightly delayed given various external factors that influenced the selection and refurbishment of the spaces, as well as recruitment of qualified personnel to run the Centres.

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: Delay in opening of SYSLAB Centres

Actions taken: Intensified dialogue with National Implementing Partner and local stakeholders; active involvement from the Project side in searching alternative premises in dialogue with local partners and potential host institutions.

Project Risk 2: Difficulty in the recruitment of staff for the Centres

Actions taken: Broader dissemination of recruitment announcements; diminution of requirements toward potential candidates (e.g. English language not mandatory for all Centres staff).

Project Risk 3: Ensuring Project sustainability after 2015

Actions taken: The management of the Project/UNDP mobilised funding for extended support of up to additional 3 years for Chisinau, Balti, Rezina, and Cahul Centres, as well as development and implementation of the entrepreneurship component. This timeframe will allow consolidation of the Centres. During the extended period, the management of the Project will support the National Implementing Partner in the development of a sustainability roadmap for the Project and its centres once the activity of the Centres is consolidated.

b. Updated project issues and actions

Project Issue 1: Daily implementation of SYSLAB methodology – more coordination is needed

Actions taken: the Project management organises weekly skype meetings among all Coordinators of Centres to facilitate knowledge sharing in. Also, the concept of the Task Force to further coordinate the implementation was developed and is to be implemented with the following Project phase.

Project Issue 2: Self-employment and piloting of the seed-money fund

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Actions taken: Given that beneficiaries recruited for employment component of the Project are mainly interested for employment and not entrepreneurship, the Project piloted selection of separate full-time group for entrepreneurship training in Comrat and the seed-fund is to be piloted with respective group, and further multiplied in other Centres (under phase II of the Project). Lessons learned are to be transferred to national implementing partner.

Project Issue 3: Recruitment of direct beneficiaries in the regions remains problematic

Actions taken: Management of the project is establishing close collaboration relationships at the local level, with LPAs, administration of rayon(s) and local media to disseminate recruitment announcements. Video and audio spot were created and broadcasted. Staff of the Centres were delivered trainings on communication to advance their presentation abilities. As well, the staff is encouraged to intensify visibility and recruitment efforts, identifying new and innovative recruitment means.

Project Issue 4: Discipline and motivation of the full-time beneficiaries is problematic in Cahul, Rezina, and Balti Centres

Actions taken: Staff of Centres organise external presentations more often; motivational messages are developed and displayed in Centres; new activities implemented (Cahul – outdoor reading).

Project Issue 5: Employment of beneficiaries from full-time groups problematic in Cahul Centre

Actions taken: Team of the Centre is encouraged to create new partnerships with Private sector, as well as develop, advance, and explore the existing partnerships. Efforts of the beneficiaries in the Centre are to be intensified and individual employment agendas be closer monitored by Centre’s team.

V. Lessons Learned The key lessons learned are summarized as follows: A) Local partnerships – development of partnerships at local level, especially with academia and 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. B) Stronger entrepreneurship component in the Project – given the peculiarities of the labour market in the regions and interest manifested by unemployed to set-up their own micro- enterprises, more attention shall be paid toward the development of an entrepreneurship component in the project which would be based on both trainings and matching financial support. Such component would be equally important for the case of the Chisinau centre, where entrepreneurial trainings would ideally complement employment courses and would make the SYSLAB offer more attractive to end-users. C) Improved coordination in terms of methodological transfer from Chisinau to the regions and mutual learning – the development and current implementation of an internal procedure on methodological transfer, monitoring and evaluation yielded positive results and streamlines all internal processes, including learning, recruitment, employment, etc. More detailed and advanced regulations on methodology knowledge sharing, monitoring and evaluation of its implementation, as well as strict adherence to such regulation in the next Project phase would benefit the centres and the entire Project. D) Recruitment of Centre’ beneficiaries – rigorous selection of beneficiaries is key to successful program completion and requires time and good planning. Usually recruitment questionnaire is

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not enough to understand the motivation of aspiring beneficiaries. The best way is to discuss face-to-face with candidate about interests and motivation, period of unemployment and availability of time to participate in SYSLAB modules. E) Motivation of Centre’ beneficiaries – skilled unemployed require permanent support and encouragement in the process of getting a job. Some of them are disappointed given their unsuccessful job search efforts and need an individual approach, including individual counselling. Additional activities at the Centres, such as visits of the Donor representatives and motivational presentations from various Centre’s partners (mainly private partners), increase the level of trust in the Centre and overall level of results oriented motivation. F) 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 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 efficient, especially for Chisinau Centre. Broadcasting of video and audio spots is also resultative, but more resources should be dedicated for exploring this visibility tool. G) Communication – the survey on efficiency of communication at the Centres performed by the Project management in June, 2015, showed that the teams at the Centres need tailored trainings on improving presentation, persuasive, and motivation abilities; abilities to communicate with difficult beneficiaries, as well as difficult partners; adjustment of the messages to different categories of beneficiaries; development of efficient messages to promote the Centres; extension of abilities to work with social media. These abilities are to be improved during the next project phase. 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 available 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 centres delivered very good results. The centre in Chisinau had excellent performance, while other regional centres have the task to maximize utilization of available resources and ensure better employability results. Taking into consideration the lessons learned throughout actual project implementation, staff in all centres is encouraged to develop more ambitious plans for the implementation of the next project phase. Despite rather complicated condition of the regional labour markets, in particular the very limited availability of relevant jobs, opportunities to promote entrepreneurship shall be fully captured by regional centres. More detailed instruments for the daily coordination and implementation of methodology, mutual learning between centres, as well as monitoring and evaluation are to be developed and put in place starting the new Project phase.

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Many skilled unemployed have limited opportunities to participate in full-time groups due to lack of financial resources for transportation, need to take care of children, distance to the career development centers or disability; Project is developing the Smart Employment planner software. A sustainability roadmap for the Project and its Centres will be developed by the National Implementing Partner, with the support from the Project management.

VII. Financial Status Combined Delivery Report (CDR) for 2013 and 2014, as well as preliminary financial report for January-September 2015 are attached to this Narrative Report. All reports are an extract of UNDP financial records. The accounting period for 2015 is an open period and data from some accounting processes may not have been processed. Thus, financial data for January- September 2015 is provisional.

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