The Ministry wants to help women aged 40-64 who do not speak Estonian to increase their employment opportunities.

Organizations are being encouraged to submit proposals with new ideas.

"The state does not have an answer today, and largely with the help of European Union funds, we want to receive proposals from those who have new solutions that we can then try out," said Ulla Saar, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.

Ida-Viru County has the highest unemployment rate in Estonia with more than 7,000 out of work. The number of women is approximately 2,000.

At least 450 people are expected to participate in the program and €3,000 will be spent on each person over three years. EU funds cover 70 percent of the costs.

The ministry's goal is for at least 45 people to enter the labor market.

Hando Sutter, head of the Employers' Confederation, said attracting people back into the labor market is a challenge.

"There is a bit of a mismatch between the expectations of people who are unemployed and those of employers. These workers simply have skills that do not allow them to find a job, so if this program, for example, helps them acquire skills through additional education and employers can get workers, then that's a double win," he told Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Anneki Teelahk, head of the Unemployment Insurance Fund's Ida-Viru County office, told ERR that clients who do not speak Estonian feel insignificant in society.

"People who have been unemployed for a long time, and who also lack Estonian language skills, are actually in a different communication sphere. They usually interact with people who think the same way, and very often what we unfortunately see with these clients is this mindset of, well, nothing depends on me," she said.

However, the ministry is hopeful that a large part of the target group will benefit from the project. Even if not all goals are met, at least an attempt has been made.

"I emphasize that we are doing this using 70 percent European Union funds, which are meant for such initiatives, where we may fail, but I really hope that with these measures we can get these people into learning and working," Ulla Saar said.

She said, if the initiative does not work, it will be known that it is not worth funding similar schemes with money solely from the state or unemployment insurance funds.

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