Social Protection Project

closed

The Social Protection Project seeks to: 1) develop the capacity of the Employment Service in the Department of Employment (DOE) of the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to manage the expected increase in the number of registered unemployed and attendant benefit claims following the restructuring and privatization of enterprises; and 2) ensure continued delivery of essential social services, by promoting orderly divestiture of social assets from enterprises, and efficient management by municipalities of a unified system of social services. To meet these objectives, the project has two main components: 1) an Employment Service (ES) Component to be implemented at both national and regional levels; and a Social Services Component, to be implemented in selected cities of South Kazakstan and Pavlodar oblasts. The Employment Service (ES) Component will strengthen the institutional capacity of the ES to register the unemployed and calculate and pay unemployment benefits; provide a more effective service to unemployed jobseekers; and analyze labor markets and formulate labor market policies. The Social Services Component will facilitate the transfer of essential social services from restructuring enterprises to local governments, and rationalize management of all basic services in five selected cities : Shymkent City, Kentau, Lenger, Pavlodar City, and Aksu.