Good Morning, I would like to begin by extending my warmest greetings to honorable Mr. Zandanshatar, Honorable Ms. Anujin; Excellency, Minister Sarangerel, Excellency Minister Enkh-Amgalan, and Excellency Ambassador Nicaise.

Honorable members of the Parliament and distinguished guests,

I would like to thank the Parliament Standing Committee on Social Policy for this initiative to provide us with an opportunity to engage in an important discussion.

UNDP is supporting governments around the world to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Under this framework, UNDP is implementing the European Union funded “SDG-aligned budgeting to transform employment in Mongolia” project together with ILO and FAO.  

The purpose of the project is to assist the Government of Mongolia to provide effective, accountable, and responsive public services in the field of labor relations and the employment sector, particularly for youth, women, and persons with disabilities, while also supporting the modernization of Mongolia’s Public Finance Management system and strengthening institutional capacities. 

I wish to just highlight some of the important achievements from the project implementation in the area of employment promotion. More detailed information will be presented by the project team today.

Aligned with today’s agenda on Welfare to Employment, comprehensive studies were conducted on the current state of employment promotion policies, their measures and financing; as well as an employment sector  public expenditure review. The studies encompass analysis of the legal and financing environment for employment promotion policies, the structure and functions of employment agencies, the current state of implementation of Employment Promotion Programs and financing principles of the Employment Promotion Fund. The studies came up with number of concrete recommendations on how to improve the efficiency and sustainability of employment promotion policies and measures in Mongolia. 

With regards to the TVET sector, our project has several initiatives, among which is a TVET tracking system (www.edu-track.gov.mn)  - an important labor market needs-based initiative that provides prompt data on profiles of graduates and their educational and employment pathways. Another digital platform, we’ve worked on, is an expansion of mergejil.mn website which gathers data about institutions offering short term trainings – this platform is the first in Mongolia that can give one-stop information regarding short term training certifications, accreditations and other important data.

Finally, on this occasion, I would like to express our gratitude for the successful partnerships with the Ministry of Labor, and Social Protection; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Finance, General Office for Labor and Welfare Services specifically for their collaboration and commitment in fostering employment reforms in Mongolia, and for the European Union for entrusting UNDP, FAO, and ILO to implement this technical assistance project.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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The "SDG-Aligned Budgeting to Transform Employment in Mongolia" project, funded by the European Union, is implemented by UNDP Mongolia, with the goal of enabling greater employment and the promotion of decent work in Mongolia. The Project intends to accomplish its objective by combining two main activity streams: i) enabling and promoting employability in Mongolia through direct interventions and policy enhancements, and ii) improving the public finance management systems to absorb results-oriented, effective, and evidence-based policies and budget initiatives in employment and labor sectors.