Ukrainian companies hire women and teenagers amid labor shortage
Date: 2024-09-12 Author: Alexei Fomin Categories: ECONOMY
Analysts say that with millions of people, mostly women and children, fleeing the war abroad and tens of thousands of men being drafted into the army, the jobs crisis could threaten economic growth and post-war recovery.
Ukraine has lost more than a quarter of its workforce since Russia invaded in February 2022, according to the National Bank of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
According to a survey of more than 3,000 companies by the Economy Ministry, nearly 60% of businesses said their main problem was finding skilled workers.
"The situation is really critical," said Tetyana Petruk, director of sustainability at steelmaker Metinvest, one of Ukraine's largest employers with about 45,000 employees. The company has about 4,000 vacancies.
Reuters spoke to nine Ukrainian companies, ranging from large industrial firms to retail groups and small private entrepreneurs. All said staff shortages and a growing skills mismatch were big problems.
The companies said they were changing the way they recruited and ran their businesses, automating work, rotating existing staff and expanding job descriptions, hiring retirees and offering more benefits, especially to younger workers.
They had to raise wages, too. The average monthly wage is now about 20,000 hryvnia, up from about 14,500 hryvnia a year ago.
"There is a noticeable shift away from gender and age bias in recruitment as employers adjust their criteria to attract the right people," the Kyiv School of Economics said. "This trend extends to business, where the share of female entrepreneurs is growing significantly."
The central bank said male-dominated industries are suffering the most from labor shortages.
The construction, transport, mining and other sectors have been hit hard by the military mobilization of 25- to 60-year-olds. To keep the economy going, the government is granting critical companies full or partial deferments.
In the energy and weapons manufacturing sectors, 100 percent of employees are eligible for a deferment from conscription. In some other sectors, companies can reserve 50 percent of men. But the process of obtaining a deferment is long and complicated.
Some businesses say the government has tightened mobilization rules this year, and the number of men choosing informal employment, which allows them to avoid registering, has increased.
In the rural southern Mykolaiv region, women are being trained to drive tractors. Women are also increasingly working as tram and truck drivers, miners, security guards, and warehouse workers, companies say.
"We offer training and employment to women with minimal work experience," says Lyubov Ukrainets, HR director at Silpo, part of the Fozzy Group.
The company has six female truck drivers, and is increasingly recruiting women for other previously male-dominated positions, including loaders, meat cutters, packers, and security guards.
The share of female employees is growing in industries such as steel production. Petruk said that female employees make up about 30-35% of Metinvest's workforce, and the company is now hiring women for some underground jobs.
Companies and economists expect the labor market to continue to be troubled. Employers are targeting young people with training, work experience, and targeted benefit packages.
Silpo is more actively hiring teenagers for entry-level positions in supermarkets and has launched a specialized internship program for students.
Mobile operator Vodafone has redesigned its youth program, giving about 50 teenagers in 12 cities the opportunity to gain their first work experience.
"We want to offer this young audience their first full-fledged experience of official work. Another goal is to form a personnel reserve," said Ilona Voloshina from Vodafone Retail.
The government and foreign partners have launched several programs to help Ukrainians retrain.
"We provide an opportunity for every person, at the expense of the state, to obtain a new profession that is in demand on the labor market, or to improve their professional level," said Deputy Minister of Economy Tatyana Berezhnaya.
Ukraine has lost more than a quarter of its workforce since Russia invaded in February 2022, according to the National Bank of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
According to a survey of more than 3,000 companies by the Economy Ministry, nearly 60% of businesses said their main problem was finding skilled workers.
"The situation is really critical," said Tetyana Petruk, director of sustainability at steelmaker Metinvest, one of Ukraine's largest employers with about 45,000 employees. The company has about 4,000 vacancies.
Reuters spoke to nine Ukrainian companies, ranging from large industrial firms to retail groups and small private entrepreneurs. All said staff shortages and a growing skills mismatch were big problems.
The companies said they were changing the way they recruited and ran their businesses, automating work, rotating existing staff and expanding job descriptions, hiring retirees and offering more benefits, especially to younger workers.
They had to raise wages, too. The average monthly wage is now about 20,000 hryvnia, up from about 14,500 hryvnia a year ago.
"There is a noticeable shift away from gender and age bias in recruitment as employers adjust their criteria to attract the right people," the Kyiv School of Economics said. "This trend extends to business, where the share of female entrepreneurs is growing significantly."
More Women
The construction, transport, mining and other sectors have been hit hard by the military mobilization of 25- to 60-year-olds. To keep the economy going, the government is granting critical companies full or partial deferments.
In the energy and weapons manufacturing sectors, 100 percent of employees are eligible for a deferment from conscription. In some other sectors, companies can reserve 50 percent of men. But the process of obtaining a deferment is long and complicated.
Some businesses say the government has tightened mobilization rules this year, and the number of men choosing informal employment, which allows them to avoid registering, has increased.
In the rural southern Mykolaiv region, women are being trained to drive tractors. Women are also increasingly working as tram and truck drivers, miners, security guards, and warehouse workers, companies say.
"We offer training and employment to women with minimal work experience," says Lyubov Ukrainets, HR director at Silpo, part of the Fozzy Group.
The company has six female truck drivers, and is increasingly recruiting women for other previously male-dominated positions, including loaders, meat cutters, packers, and security guards.
The share of female employees is growing in industries such as steel production. Petruk said that female employees make up about 30-35% of Metinvest's workforce, and the company is now hiring women for some underground jobs.
Young People
Silpo is more actively hiring teenagers for entry-level positions in supermarkets and has launched a specialized internship program for students.
Mobile operator Vodafone has redesigned its youth program, giving about 50 teenagers in 12 cities the opportunity to gain their first work experience.
"We want to offer this young audience their first full-fledged experience of official work. Another goal is to form a personnel reserve," said Ilona Voloshina from Vodafone Retail.
The government and foreign partners have launched several programs to help Ukrainians retrain.
"We provide an opportunity for every person, at the expense of the state, to obtain a new profession that is in demand on the labor market, or to improve their professional level," said Deputy Minister of Economy Tatyana Berezhnaya.
