PCU awarded an Erasmus+ grant to favor migrant Ukrainian women to workforce

More about WINGS project

The WINGS project is a two-year long project in the area of adult education sponsored by the European Commission which aims to assist adult women forced migrants fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. The project provides comprehensive resources, skill-building opportunities, and support to help adult migrant women in their careers in the labor markets of host countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Turkey). The WINGS project entails coordination and implementation of different activities including the creation of e-books “Empowering Women: A Comprehensive Guide to Career Opportunities” translated to Ukrainian and local languages of host countries, a comprehensive integration learning program (CILP) "Leap Forward: Women's Career Transformation" and other dissemination and communication activities “Career Restart for Forced Migrants: Nothing to Us Without Us”. The results of the project aim to target over 100 adult women-forced migrants from Ukraine in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Czechia and Turkey by improving their knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to restart their careers and to overcome professional exclusion. 

According to the UN Refugees Operational Data Portal (UNHCR), more than 12.7 million Ukrainians have become forced migrants since February 24, 2022. Among them, 7.7 million Ukrainians were compelled to flee their homes and relocate within Ukraine, becoming internally displaced persons, while 5 million Ukrainians left the country altogether. The majority of these forced migrants (80%) are women with children who have sought refuge in host countries. In these new environments, they face significant challenges such as language barriers, employment difficulties, social isolation, legal and administrative issues, and limited access to education and training. As the primary breadwinners and caregivers for their families, most of these women have lost their previous employment in Ukraine and experienced a sharp decline in their social status, further exacerbating the difficulties they face. 

The WINGS project is motivated by the pressing need to support these women restart or build their careers in the labor market of the hosting countries, acquire new skills, and start the first steps to build financial independence. By focusing on empowering women and providing them with resources, training, and support, the project aims to alleviate the negative socio-psychological consequences of unemployment and displacement.

WINGS and PCU’s Values

The WINGS project meets with the fundamental core value of Prague City University based on connectedness. PCU prides itself on promoting open, inclusive and diverse dialogue and understanding and supporting the needs of cross-cultural communities and societies. This is articulated in its generous and empathetic view sensitive to global issues through its various local and international social activities undertaken by the University in the last years - Westfield (Follow Your Dreams with URW & PCU), Visegrad (PCU awarded a Visegrad grant to develop a programme for NGO communities). At the same time a great deal of wealth in terms of professional and academic knowledge is brought to classes revolving around employment and the global business environment.