Support for Ukrainian students and employees

In relation to the escalating war situation in Ukraine, Tartu Health Care College expresses full support for Ukrainian students and employees in connection with the war in Ukraine. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, everyone has the right to education.

Tartu Health Care College provides professional higher education, vocational education and has two Master` Programmes: in Radiography and in Health Sciences.

Possibilities for war refugees to enter the labour market based on their qualifications

Foreign citizens can work without a professional certificate in unregulated professions, i.e. professions for which the law does not prescribe qualification requirements or require a professional certificate. Therefore, access to unregulated professions (e.g. beauticians, hospital caregivers, chefs, gardeners, construction workers) in the labour market is free. Hiring is decided by employers and applying for a profession is not necessary.

There are several fields and occupations in Estonia that are restricted by requirements for specific qualifications and professional experience, i.e. regulated professions. These are medical professionals, teachers, responsible persons in construction (e.g. responsible construction managers, civil engineers), railway workers, etc.

If a person who has obtained qualifications abroad wishes to work in a regulated profession, they have to go through the process of recognition. Recognition means that a competent authority appointed by the state assesses the compliance of the qualification with domestic or international requirements for education and professional experience. As a rule, the competent authority is either the ministry or agency of that specific field that has established the regulation and monitors its compliance. Awarders of profession are not competent authorities. A list of regulated professions and competent authorities is available here. Therefore, in regulated professions where a professional certificate is required by law as a prerequisite for employment, foreign citizens do not need to apply for a professional certificate – completing the recognition process is enough.

You can see the full guidance of possibilities for war refugees to enter the labour market based on their qualifications in English here and in Russian here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• You can find general information about education in the webpage of Ministry of Education and Research.
• Estonian Refugee Council coordinates the evacuation of refugees from the Ukrainian border.
• You can find the most up-to-date information on the security situation on the government website kriis.ee.
• For questions, contact the helpline 1247.