A labor shortage is being observed across all sectors, and according to surveys, this is currently the main issue for businesses, reported Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy, Tatyana Berezhnaya.
"You mentioned figures and forecasts, and I am confident that many present in this room have also heard about the 8.6 million additional workers, as reported by the International Labour Organization based on its research. The Ministry of Economy conducted a separate study and we found that we need an additional 4.5 million workers in the labor market," she stated at the 10th Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on Thursday.
Berezhnaya added that there is a "huge field" for collaboration between the government, businesses, and public organizations in creating more programs that will help Ukrainians become more competitive in the labor market.
According to her, Ukraine already has retraining and voucher programs, as well as Coursera and its Reskill project, which offers 30,000 scholarships.
"However, at the same time, this is just a drop in the ocean, because there are approximately 8 million economically inactive people within the country. These are individuals who do not seek work for various reasons related to disabilities, veterans who have not found their place in the labor market, or women who cannot balance family and work responsibilities," emphasized Berezhnaya.
Therefore, the Deputy Minister believes that a significant amount of work must be done to activate these groups of economically inactive individuals.