IT specialists during the war: results of surveys on new benchmarks and transformation in the labor market
The war fundamentally changed the Ukrainian IT sector. After February 24, 2022, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Haitians turned out to be destroyed or significantly reformatted not only in the physical, but also in the professional dimension. High mobility, strong telecommuting experience and the ability to quickly adapt have allowed the industry to survive. However, behind this stability are big changes, which are eloquently evidenced by the statistics of the last three years.
Relocation: from postponed plans to mass departure and return
In accordance with surveys, conducted by AIN, even before the start of a full-scale invasion, approximately 45% of Haitians in Ukraine did not consider emigration at all, and another 45% did not rule it out, but did not prepare. Only 7–9% of specialists actively planned relocation. Moreover, this share decreased from 9% in 2016 to 7% in 2021. A full-scale war changed the situation dramatically: in 2022, 13% were already actively seeking to leave, and the share of those who had no such intentions rose to 56%. This is explained by both patriotic considerations and current restrictions on the departure of men, who make up the majority in the industry — from 60 to 74%, according to various estimates.
In 2023, the percentage of those preparing to leave fell to 8%. In 2024, it increased again to 15%, while the share of those who do not plan to travel decreased to 44%. According to the Lviv IT Cluster, in August 2024, out of 302,000 Ukrainian IT residents, 238,000 were in Ukraine, and 62,000–64,000 were outside its borders.
The largest IT companies of Ukraine organized a large-scale relocation of employees already in the first months of the war. Thus, ZONE3000 evacuated about 350 specialists from Kharkiv to the western regions of Ukraine and abroad. A separate hub became operational in Bulgaria. During 2023-2024, there was a partial return. In Ukraine, 15 new hubs were opened in the largest cities, including Lviv and Kharkiv.
In the first months of the war, SoftServe transported more than 4,000 workers to Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. In these countries, employees were provided with official employment, a full social package, health insurance, adaptation programs and language courses. Already in May 2022, the process of returning to Ukraine began. The share of those who decided to change their place of work after relocation was only 5–9%.
EPAM offered the departed specialists contracts in local offices or relocation to countries where there is a demand for their specialization. The company complies with the requirements of local tax legislation.
Changes in the number of teams
Despite the crisis, some companies have grown. So, ZONE3000 increased the number from 2000 in January 2022 to more than 2400 in 2024. At SoftServe, on the contrary, there is a reduction: from 10,918 in July 2022 to 7,335 in July 2024. At EPAM, the number of employees in Ukraine decreased from 14,000 to 9,500.
In 2022, about 20% of IT specialists went abroad. 64% of them are women. According to the AIN survey, in 2024, 85% of respondents will remain in Ukraine, and 15% will remain abroad. Among men (44 respondents), 14% left. The share of those who do not plan to return has decreased to 4% (8–9% in 2022–2023).
Among the main factors preventing return are mobilization (66.67%), danger of shelling and blackouts (44.44%), settled life abroad (33.33%).
New priorities of IT specialists
The war changed the priorities of IT specialists in choosing an employer. To the traditional criteria — a stable company and timely salary — was added the position of support for the Armed Forces. According to MacPaw, this is important for 26% of professionals. 97% of companies support military initiatives, and Haitians themselves donate $80 million (almost UAH 3 billion) every month. At the same time, according to the DOU, for 68% of Haitians in the Armed Forces, companies keep their jobs, and for 60% — and cash payments.
Companies also offer new formats of support: vacations in case of danger, financial and psychological support, compensation for defenders have been introduced in EPAM. At SoftServe, the emphasis is on mental well-being and health insurance.
According to the ITExpert survey, the most desirable areas are: GameDev, Defense Tech, e-commerce, Fintech, Data Science. By types of companies, preference is given to grocery companies (57.9%). Service companies are interested in 9.2%, outstaff — 4.8%, startups — 6.6%.
In ZONE3000, it is most difficult to find candidates in the areas of ML&AI, DevOps and Senior Development. There is often a lack of experience or flexibility for new technologies. In EPAM, there is a constant demand for Data, Cloud, .NET, as well as for Security, SAP, Shopify, Golang, Salesforce, Performance Analysis.
Among the areas that experts avoid, gambling is in the lead – 61%, adult content – 44%, blockchain – 24%, GameDev – 19%. 26% of respondents have no prejudices towards any field.
The labor market was also Ukrainianized: in October 2022, 84% of vacancies on Work.ua were in Ukrainian, in October 2023 – 95%, and in September 2024 – already 97%. The share of vacancies in Russian decreased to 1.5%.
According to AIN, 43% of Haitians reported serious changes in their career plans, another 43% reported moderate changes, and 14% did not change their orientations.
In 2024, the priorities became: financial stability and income growth — 72%, family support — 54%, professional development — 37%, own business or startup — 35%. Buying real estate has lost its relevance (17%), instead, the share of those who want to emigrate is increasing (19%).
