Public Employment Policy in Conditions of Uncertainty and Digital Changes

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creation of new jobs, application targeted measures to support employment, development and implementation of programs to ensure employee mobility and retraining, etc.; and digitalthe government grant program eRobota, which provides grants to Ukrainians through digital interaction tools for starting a business, developing entrepreneurship and training. Proven that in conditions of crisis and uncertainty in the economy, effective means of public employment policy are: the provision of state orders for goods and works in connection with the creation of new (temporary) jobs and organizational and resource support for entrepreneurship and self-employment of the population in rural areas. Attention was focused on the importance of forming up-todate digital competences of employees. Proposed to create a Center for the formation of digital competences within the State Employment Service of Ukraine, to carry out work on the organization of training digital competences of persons who hold managerial positions in the private, public, and non-profit sectors of the economy, with the aim of improving their qualifications, conducting thematic trainings. Keywords: public employment policy, digital competences, digitization of employment, consequences of military actions.
Introduction. Today, the conditions of uncertainty in Ukraine are mainly caused by active military actions, and before that, quarantine restrictions and the imposition and strengthening of downward waves of long and medium economic cycles. The intensive processes of digitalization of all spheres of public life create tangible uncertainty in the field of professional activity and career prospects of qualified and highly qualified employees. Public employment policy measures of a liberal nature, but with the use of anti-crisis active measures to support employers, employees, and start-up entrepreneurs, in the new conditions do not fully work and do not solve employment problems, but rather cause the use of public resources to compensate for business losses or receiving non-labor income. In numerous publications of domestic authors on the studied issues, the issues of post-war reconstruction, relocation of enterprises, the return of forced migrants, the evolutionary and free acquisition of digital competences by the population are emphasized, but the issues of solving the problems of product sales and high transaction costs of entrepreneurs and self-employed persons, the motivation of employers to creation of jobs against the background of a decrease in their economic activity, formation of professional digital competences of persons who have reached a high professional level and are over 40 years old, etc.
Materials and methods. Statistical data from the official website of the State Employment Service of Ukraine, public information of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, scientific works of domestic scientists, and the results of the authors' own research were used during the research. The authors relied on methods of statistical analysis of dynamics, monographic studies, generalization, synthesis, and design of organizational systems.
Results and discussion. Military aggression from the outside and the introduction of martial law causes a shock effect on all spheres of life of the state and society, which is associated with numerous institutional and legal changes and a sharp transformation of a number of informal institutions [2].
The course and consequences of military actions led to significant changes in the functioning of the economy and the labor market in Ukraine. The destruction of production facilities, disruption of economic processes, hostilities in a large part of the country, damage to infrastructure led to the complete or partial cessation of business activities, the emergence of problems in the organization of business and logistics, and a drop in consumer demand [17].
The hostilities created numerous threats to the lives of millions of people and provoked largescale forced external migration of the population. The existing losses of labor force and fixed capital significantly increased the negative processes in the labor market [8].
Today, in Ukraine, there is an increase in the scale and increased activity of migration and labor processes [17], which were provoked by the crisis phenomena of 2008-2009, strengthened by the spread of the coronavirus disease in 2020-2021, and multiplied by military actions in 2022-early 2023.
According to Ukrainian scientists, further intensification of competition for quality workforce and investors who create modern physical jobs on the global labor market and on the national labor markets of countries neighboring Ukraine should be expected [8].
The situation that has developed in Ukraine on the labor market is considered by most Ukrainian scientists and researchers to be ambiguous, crisis-like and one that produces labor poverty, a decrease in the economic activity of the working population, stratification of the population and, accordingly, a decrease in the quality of labor potential and motivation for productive activity [13]. Today's problems in the field of productive employment have caused a deterioration in the quality of the labor force, welfare, and motivation of the population, and increased economic pressure on the working population, a decrease in budget revenues, etc. [17].
The hostilities caused numerous changes in the supply of labor, in particular, a decrease in the supply of skilled labor due to migration abroad, mobilization and the death of people of working age; an increase in the number of workers with disabilities with a significantly lower level of work capacity compared to pre-war times; increasing the supply of women in the labor market due to postponing marriage and having children; increase in child labor due to the spread of poverty and loss of opportunities to receive education, special higher education, etc. There is a deterioration of employment conditions, an increase in the level of unemployment and the spread of informal employment [22].
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), as of the end of February 2022, 4.8 million Ukrainians were unemployed. There was a significant reduction in the number of vacancies in almost all spheres of economic activity. i.e., the decrease compared to the same period last year was 52.1%.
Of the total number of unemployed in January-March 2023, 70.2% or 188,936 thousand people were women (of which 158,204 thousand people were previously employed) and 29.8% or 80,250 thousand people were men (of which 68,616 thousand people previously worked). As of April 1, 2023, of the total number of unemployed, 71.8% were women and 28.2% were men.
The number of vacancies registered in the State Employment Service in January-March 2022 amounted to 146,147 thousand units, in January-March 2023 -93,132 thousand units (36.3% less). As of April 1, 2022, the number of vacancies was 33,528 thousand units, and as of April 1, 2023, the number of vacancies was 35,059 thousand units. That is, we see that during the year of the war, the number of vacancies at the beginning of April almost did not change, but at the same time it should be understood that the State Employment Service of Ukraine is not the only and exclusive mechanism for finding employees by employers. Today, the activity of numerous mediators for the selection and development of personnel has become widespread, and new information and digital tools for finding employees and communicating with them have been launched, in particular, groups in social networks, marketplaces for job search, Telegram channels (for example, Telegram channel "Recruiter"), etc.
The dynamics of the number of vacancies by types of economic activity shows negative values for all, without exception, types of activity, however, the number of vacancies decreased the least for: If we analyze the professions in which the number of vacancies is the largest, or there is a shortage of personnel (the number of vacancies is greater than the number of unemployed people applying for these vacancies), it should be noted that the shortage of personnel in January-March 2023 occurred in the following professions: • professionals: general practitioner-family doctor (19 people applied  Analyzing the expectations and intentions of employers regarding the release of employees, it should be noted that in January-March 2022, it was planned to release 18,240 people, and in the same period of 2023 -24,473 people, which is 34.2% more than the previous period. In terms of types of economic activity, the situation with the planned mass release of workers in connection with landmines in the organization of production and labor is ambiguous: ▪ in the field of financial and insurance activities, the number of planned layoffs is 545 times higher than the level of January-March last year (2 people were planned to be laid off in January-March 2022, and 1,090 people were planned in January-March 2023); ▪ in the field of information and telecommunications, the number of planned layoffs is 49 times higher than the level of January-March last year (9 people were planned to be laid off in January-March 2022, and 441 people were planned in January-March 2023); ▪ in the field of professional scientific and scientific and technical activities, the number of planned layoffs is 7.2 times higher than the level of January-March last year (501 people were planned to be laid off in January-March 2022, and 3,607 people were planned in January-March 2023); ▪ in the field of transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities, the number of planned layoffs decreased by 60.7% (1,860 layoffs were planned in January-March 2022, and 695 in January-March 2023). A similar trend of reduction of planned layoffs is also observed in construction, agriculture, processing industry, activities in the sphere of administrative and auxiliary services, health care, and provision of social assistance. The presented results of the analysis of the current state of the labor market in Ukraine and the changes during the year of the war confirm the existence of processes of reducing the workload and the practical demand for highly qualified workers and the simultaneous increase in the need for low-skilled labor, which strengthens the motivation for labor migration (or migration to change the country of residence) of that part population, which forms the basis of the country's human capital. In these conditions, the undemanding labor force of qualified and highly qualified workers causes the need to adapt their competencies to the latest trends in scientific and technical development and information and technological modernization of both economic and social relations. This factor can become decisive for successful competition between countries in the conditions of further deepening of integration processes and development of interstate associations.
Domestic researchers believe that the restoration of the pre-war state of employment and the labor market will be a difficult and long-term process in view of the sharp drop in gross domestic product, the physical destruction of a significant number of enterprises, the threatening scale of external labor migration, the loss of its intellectual and physical potential, limited investment opportunities in the economy Qualitative changes in the labor market will be possible in the case of interaction between the state, the employer and the employee in combination with the strategic directions of economic reconstruction. The effectiveness of the post-war recovery and reconstruction of the labor market will be based on the construction and implementation of a balanced policy of preserving and increasing human capital, promoting its reproduction and development, taking into account the requirements of the new reality, forming a system of motivators for quick employment, improving, or changing qualifications to meet new requirements, stimulating entrepreneurship, etc. [23,24].
In general, the public policy of employment in the conditions of uncertainty caused by military actions should have an anti-crisis character and be aimed at creating an opportunity to restore the economic activity of the population in new living and working conditions. But, at the same time, the public policy of employment in conditions of uncertainty, which is related to the processes of digital transformation of economic, managerial, and social relations, should prepare the ground for the formation of digital competencies and practices of labor market participants, in particular, highly qualified, and qualified workers in the service sector and knowledge-intensive and technological business activity.
Regarding the vectors and tools of the first direction (anti-crisis) of public employment policy, the researchers suggest implementing measures to: ✓ intensification of economic processes in territories where hostilities are not taking place and implementation of production support, its transfer to relatively safe regions (relocation); ✓ maximum stimulation of the reorientation of the economy to support the army, provide defense, restore, and maintain infrastructure, ensure food security; ✓ support of small business, self-employment of the population while simultaneously reducing support for large corporations [3]. The Government of Ukraine will implement the enterprise relocation program from mid-March 2022. According to this program, the package of state support includes the selection of a location for the company's facilities, assistance with transportation to a new location, assistance in the relocation of employees and the search for new employees, support in the restoration of logistics, the purchase of raw materials and the search for sales markets. Enterprises from the war zone are being relocated to Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Volyn and the southern part of Rivne Oblast. After the end of hostilities, they should return to their original locations and become drivers of economic reconstruction in communities [15].
During the year of the war, 800 enterprises were relocated under the government relocation program, 623 of which have already resumed work at a new location, for 239 the location or method of transportation is being searched for, more than 650 enterprises that planned to relocate their production facilities refused to relocate due to de-occupation of territories, 44 enterprises have already returned to their original location. Most enterprises relocated to Lviv (24%), Zakarpattia (14.5%), Chernivtsi (9.8%), Ivano-Frankivsk (8.3%), Khmelnytsky (7.3%), Ternopil (6.3%) regions [6].
Avramenko N.L., Lebedchenko V.V., Andrusenko N.V. note that more than 35,000 jobs were saved during the relocation programs and more than 7,000 people found work in the relocated enterprises. Since the beginning of the program, more than UAH 1.14 billion in taxes have been transferred to the budget. The largest share of relocated enterprises belongs to wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (40.7%), processing industry (30.2%), information and telecommunications (6.7%), professional, scientific, and technical activities (6.2%), construction (4.4%) [1].
An effective instrument of state support for employers is the provision of their credit under conditions of significant risks under the program "Affordable loans 5-7-9%", which provides for the provision of state portfolio guarantees. Employers can borrow up to UAH 60 million for the period of martial law and one month after its end. under 0%. As of November 7, 2022, almost 50,000 loans totaling over UAH 150 billion have been issued under the "5-7-9% Available Loans" program [1].
In general, within the anti-crisis direction of public employment policy, scientists emphasize such measures as: creation of new jobs, application of targeted measures to support employment, development and implementation of programs to ensure mobility and retraining of workers for transition to priority sectors and other geographical areas (where they will be able to compensate for the shortage of professional competences and labor resources), support for the development of such priority types of economic activity as construction and architecture, food and light industry, enterprises processing agricultural products, machine building, and the military complex [10].
In our opinion, in conditions of crisis and uncertainty in the economy (especially caused by military actions), effective means of public employment policy are: the provision of state orders (in particular, for goods, works, services) in connection with the creation of new (possibly temporary) jobs and organizational and resource support for entrepreneurship and self-employment of the population in rural areas. As we noted in previous scientific publications, support for entrepreneurship and self-employment in rural areas should be focused, first of all, on creating the possibility of access of newly formed business entities to territorially distant markets with significant capacity and high demand. This is possible in the case of the creation of multifunctional service cooperatives and cooperative unions with close international ties, however, the experience of the cooperative movement in Ukraine over the past 30 years does not confirm the possibility of the practical implementation of this model. Taking into account the peculiarities of socio-economic and publicadministrative relations in Ukraine, for organizational and resource support of micro and small entrepreneurs, it is expedient to create municipal multifunctional centers (hubs) in united territorial communities with the main functions of supply and sales service for entrepreneurs. It is advisable to combine such hubs into a national network.
The second -the digital direction of the public employment policy in Ukraine is already being implemented. It includes the government grant program "eRobota", which provides grants to Ukrainians through digital interaction tools for starting a business, developing entrepreneurship and training. The project is aimed at stimulating the creation of jobs through the activation of entrepreneurial activity and includes the following areas: micro-grants for the creation of one's own business, grants for the development of a processing enterprise, state funding for planting a garden, funds for the development of greenhouses, a grant for the implementation of a startup, including in the field of IT, funds for training in IT specialties. In our opinion, the allocation of such directions for stimulating entrepreneurship is strategically correct, especially in the context of solving employment problems in rural territorial communities and in the places of residence of internally displaced persons.
According to the micro-grant program for the creation of one's own business ("Own business"), the size of the micro-grant for one recipient is from 50 to 250 thousand UAH (funds can be spent on the purchase or leasing of equipment, the purchase of raw materials and materials, the rental of premises) [4]. A mandatory condition for providing funds is the creation of 1-2 jobs (if the entrepreneur creates one job, the amount of the grant is up to UAH 150,000, if two -UAH 250,000) [5]. Obtaining such a grant is possible only through the use of the centralized e-governance tool "Diia". According to the results of the implementation of this direction, about 8,000 new jobs were created in 2022.
Grants for the creation or development of processing enterprises provide for the involvement of up to UAH 8 million. In particular, we are talking about woodworking, production of furniture, clothes, and accessories, building materials, processing of agricultural products, etc. The grant granting mechanism is as follows: for the first thousand applicants, the state co-finances 70% of the project cost, the rest is paid by the recipient, for subsequent applications, the state provides funds in the amount of up to 50% of the project cost. Entrepreneurs can apply for participation through the state digital portal "Diia". Entrepreneurs who received funds are required to pay taxes and a single social contribution in the amount of the grant and create at least 25 jobs within 3 years [4].
Grants for the creation or development of a greenhouse economy are provided for the construction of a modular greenhouse with an area of at least 0.4 hectares and no more than 2.4 hectares in accordance with a typical project with the number of new jobs created at least 14 per 1 hectare of the area of the modular greenhouse. The size of the grants is differentiated depending on the size of the greenhouse: 0.4-0.6 hectares -UAH 2 million, 0.8-1.2 hectares -UAH 3.5 million, 1.6-2.4 hectares -UAH 7 million. Grant funds are intended for the construction (installation) of a greenhouse, the purchase of means of production (garden material, seeds, technological equipment), covering the costs of their delivery and commissioning of a modular greenhouse. Provision is made for granting grants for the construction of 1,000 modular greenhouses in the amount of no more than 70 percent of the cost of the modular greenhouse construction project, but no more than 7 million hryvnias, and on the condition that the difference between the cost of the modular greenhouse construction project and the volume is financed by the recipient's funds (own and/or credit) grant [4].
An experiment is being conducted to organize the training of individuals under educational programs in the field of information technologies "Start in IT". To study in educational programs during the implementation of the experiment, a person submits an application in person in electronic form using the means of the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services ("Diia"). The application is submitted to the employment center at the person's place of residence [14].
However, these state employment support tools only use modern digital systems of management and administration, and today there is a trend of comprehensive digitalization of work.
Digitization actualizes new qualities that a modern worker should possess, in particular, mobility, autonomy, self-responsibility, transparency, etc. [19]. Research by scientists reveals a high demand for digital skills and skills in developed countries, records connections between the level of well-being and digital competence, in particular, in the UK, jobs that require basic digital literacy skills are paid 29% more than jobs that do not such skills [16].
Today, a new concept is being formed in the field of public employment management of the populationdigital employment, which is understood by researchers as a useful and expedient activity of an economically active population with the help of information and computer technologies, the result of which is an information product, and the activity itself is aimed at satisfying public and personal needs and is economically beneficial for both employees and employers. The supply of labor and the demand for it is fixed on special online platforms, where the terms of employment, payment and evaluation of labor results are also formed [20]. At the same time, the use of digital platforms is aimed at: providing digital products and services to individual users; provision of exchange of goods and services (in particular in the form of electronic commerce) or exchange of labor force [19].
The processes of digitalization of labor and social relations cause the need for the formation of relevant digital competences of employees and the development and adoption of normative legal acts regarding such competences [16].
In 2021, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, based on the conceptual reference European model DigComp 2.1 for Citizens, developed the Digital Competence Framework for citizens of Ukraine. According to it, digital technologies include: social media, multimedia, streaming video, learning management systems, digital music, geolocation, e-commerce, unmanned and mobile technologies, as well as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, cyber systems, artificial intelligence, big data, paperless technologies, biometric technologies, additive technologies (3D printing), cloud and fog computing, biometric technologies, identification technologies, blockchain, quantum technologies, etc. [16]. This Framework contains 4 dimensions, 6 areas, 30 competencies and 6 levels of digital competence [12]. The project "Action. Digital education" with the aim of teaching digital literacy to 6 million Ukrainians in 3 years. The project has an online component -a platform where free digital literacy courses are posted, and an offline componenta network of partner digital education hubs across the country, where you can access the Internet and digital gadgets [21]. However, it should be noted that the start of full-scale military operations in February 2022 did not allow the project to be fully implemented. In addition, voluntary free training is effective for a motivated audience under the age of 40.
In our opinion, the issue of forming digital competences for the economically active population of the country should be carried out systematically and systematically in connection with the measures of public employment policy. That is, first of all, a legal norm should be adopted regarding the presence of mandatory (valid until the next qualification upgrade at least once every 2 years) documented digital competences of persons holding managerial positions in the private, public, and non-profit sectors of the economy with the differentiation of special digital competences in depending on the nature of the position. Next, it is expedient to create a Center for the formation of digital competences within the State Employment Service of Ukraine, which will conduct work on the organization of training in digital competences of the above-mentioned persons, improving their qualifications, conducting thematic trainings. Education at the specified Center should be free but planned. This method of continuous formation of digital professional competences, in our opinion, will be more effective than the introduction of mandatory digitalization disciplines into the educational programs of educational institutions of various levels. Also, this method is more effective than creating free access on educational online platforms to courses and trainings on acquiring digital professional competencies.
Conclusions. Public employment policy today is being implemented in conditions of uncertainty caused by economic cycles, the Covid 19 pandemic and active military operations in Ukraine. The current state of the labor market in Ukraine demonstrates the lack of demand for qualified and highly qualified workers, which will further exacerbate the problems of employment and poverty, the loss of part of the intellectual potential and human capital in Ukraine, and will increase migration pressure on neighboring friendly countries.
Promising directions of public employment policy are organizational and resource support of small entrepreneurship and self-employment of the population in rural areas and stimulation of new jobs through state procurement. Intensive processes of digitalization of labor and social relations require effective formation of professional digital competences of employees, which should be carried out continuously for managers of all sectors of the economy through the creation and adjustment of the functioning of the Center for the formation of digital competences of the State Employment Service of Ukraine.
Further research is needed on the issue of developing amendments to the regulatory and legal acts regarding the above-mentioned proposals, the order of operation and economic mechanisms of the Center for the formation of digital competences and municipal multifunctional hubs.
Conflict of interests. The authors confirm that they are the authors of this work and have approved it for publication. The authors also certify that the obtained clinical data and research were conducted in compliance with the requirements of moral and ethical principles based on medical and pharmaceutical law, and in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be interpreted as a potential conflict of interest.
Funding. The authors state that this research received no specific grant and/or funding from any agency in state, public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.