---
title: "Moldova launches campaign to attract youth to social care"
url: https://moldova1.md/p/85762/moldova-launches-campaign-to-attract-youth-to-social-care
published: 2026-09-20T13:30:00Z
language: en
author: "Dumitru Petruleac"
section: "Social"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Moldova launches campaign to attract youth to social care

> Moldova launched a national recruitment drive on Sunday to attract young specialists to social work, introducing certified career pathways and performance-based salary increases to address critical labor shortages across the sector.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/d0c73f2e-7b96-4d70-bbe4-3143093e0283.jpg)

Moldova launched a national recruitment drive on Sunday to attract young specialists to social work, introducing certified career pathways and performance-based salary increases to address critical labor shortages across the sector.

The initiative, titled *“My Profession That Matters for Moldova,”* was unveiled in Chișinău on Social Protection Workers' Day. Minister of Labour and Social Protection Natalia Plugaru announced that the state will establish a structured career ladder for social workers, encompassing continuous education, professional supervision, formal certification, and linked wage benefits.

*“We need a generation that consciously chooses social assistance professions, enters the system, and, above all, chooses to stay,”* said Plugaru. *“If you learn, specialize, and enhance your skills, that expertise must be formally recognized and valued.”*

**Expanding frontline support**

The minister highlighted progress made under the comprehensive "Restart" administrative reform. Social services now assist approximately 78,000 citizens annually, up from roughly 3,000 beneficiaries in 2024. Weekly home visits by caseworkers have grown fourteenfold, while dedicated programs now assist 6,900 vulnerable women. In total, the social security framework delivers benefits to over 1.2 million citizens.

*“Often, society remembers social workers only when tragedies strike and make headlines,”* Plugaru noted. *“We rarely ask how many lives were quietly protected because timely intervention occurred before reaching the news.”*

President Maia Sandu attended the launch, commending social personnel for supporting children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities through multiple compound shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, energy shortages, and spillovers from the war on Moldova's border.

*“For citizens in need, the state acquires a human face through frontline workers,”* Sandu stated. *“Through the 'Restart' reform, we are building an organized system where community support does not depend on where a person lives.”*

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Moldova Yeşim Oruç reiterated international backing for the reforms, stating that social protection professionals play an indispensable role in advancing sustainable development and preserving human dignity nationwide.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**
***
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