Unemployment fund helps oil shale workers find new jobs

2023-12-14 16:45:16

Photo: Unemployment Insurance Fund

To save the planet and stop climate change, we need to make big changes in our lives: houses should be better insulated, cars should pollute less. Changes are also taking place in industry: some jobs will disappear, some will be added. In Estonia, this primarily concerns Ida-Viru County and the oil shale industry. There are professions whose content changes, there are professions that disappear and are replaced by new ones.

Some workers in the shale sector will no longer be able to continue working in this area. From the new year, with the support of the Just Transition Fund, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will be able to offer additional opportunities for those people whose jobs in the oil shale sector are at risk of disappearing.

The employees in the oil shale sector who will receive support are currently employed by AS Eesti Energia, AS Kirde Varad, Kiviõli Keemiatööstuse OÜ and companies directly related to oil shale extraction and belonging to the same group of companies AS Enefit Power, AS Enefit Solutions, OÜ VKG Kaevandused, AS VKG OIL, OÜ VIRU RMT, OÜ VKG Energia and OÜ VKG Logistika.

From 1 January 2024, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will pay benefits to oil shale workers and pay for their retraining to help these people find new jobs faster.

What opportunities do workers have?
People currently working in the oil shale sector should find out what training opportunities are offered by the Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Centre, Tallinn University of Technology (Virumaa College), Tallinn Health University and the University of Tartu (Narva College).

New study programs have been created taking into account the future of Ida-Viru County. An example is the training programs of the Ida-Viru Vocational Education Center: solar power system technician, CNC milling machine operator, CNC lathe operator, mechatronics technician.

Of course, in the future, other training programs will be added to obtain professions that are necessary and in demand in the labor market now or in the near future.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund can support level training (362.50 euros per month). If you are interested in such training, you should contact a career consultant to create a plan together.

The second option is to find suitable additional training (costing up to 2,500 euros), which is provided by the partners of the Unemployment Insurance Fund using a training card.

A third opportunity will appear in the fall, when it will be possible to apply for a one-time benefit for micro-qualifications (EUR 1,087.50). Training programs and various opportunities can be found on the Unemployment Insurance Fund website www.tootukassa.ee.

What choices do people who have lost their jobs have?
If a person is laid off, the long-serving employee usually has the opportunity to receive several benefits (redundancy benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, unemployment benefits). Therefore, people are often in no hurry to take on a new job, especially if the salary at their previous job was higher. However, according to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, it is clear that every day without work increases the risk that a person will remain unemployed for a very long time.

From January, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will pay a completely new employment benefit for laid-off workers from the oil shale sector, in order to encourage them to take up a new job as quickly as possible.

To receive this benefit, a person must return to work within the first 100 days after being laid off, and the new job must be outside the oil shale sector. The benefit is paid for 6-12 months, and its amount is 30% of the person’s previous salary (up to 1000 euros per month).
The recently published employment barometer shows that there is a shortage of skilled labor in both the electronics and metalworking industries in Ida-Virumaa. Businesses need electronic engineers, electrical and mechanical installers.

In the metalworking industry there is a shortage of qualified workers in a number of professions. There also continues to be a mismatch between the expectations of welders and machinists and the ability of businesses to pay competitive wages, which has until now forced many skilled and experienced workers to leave the county. A support measure introduced in the new year for labor released from the oil shale sector can now motivate people to start working in their county.

The new benefit is intended to support Ida-Viru County, so people who have registered as unemployed outside the county will not be able to apply for it; they will be helped in other ways.

Why should an employer think about training their employees?
Employees who learn new things will be better able to cope with the changes that await the oil shale sector and companies in Ida-Viru County. If an employer wants to contribute to the development of Ida-Virumaa, it would be a good idea to share information about the possibilities of the Unemployment Insurance Fund with their employees.

Anneki Teelahk,

Head of the Ida-Viru branch of the Unemployment Insurance Fund

The post The Unemployment Insurance Fund helps oil shale sector workers find new jobs first appeared on gazeta.ee.