To restore the country, it is necessary to attract 4.5 million workers, including foreigners

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine is the Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov stated, that for the successful reconstruction of the country after the war, it is necessary to attract 4.5 million workers. He emphasized that overcoming the personnel deficit is critically important for the economic development of Ukraine.

Chernyshov explained that economic growth and national unity are interconnected, as the recovery of the country requires not only investments, but also human capital. He drew attention to the fact that the return of Ukrainians to their homes and the involvement of citizens in the labor market are key conditions for ensuring sustainable economic development.

According to him, before the start of the full-scale war, the GDP of Ukraine amounted to approximately 200 billion dollars, while public expenditures reached 80 billion. During the war and reconstruction, the country’s spending exceeded $110 billion a year due to increased military, social, and reconstruction needs. To balance these costs and ensure economic growth, Ukraine needs to double its GDP in the coming decade, which requires annual economic growth of at least 7%.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that at the current level of productivity, Ukraine will lack up to 4.5 million workers. In addition, by 2035 another 2 million people will leave the labor market due to population aging, insufficient youth and migration. Unless more people are put to work and productivity is not increased, the recovery could take decades.

To reduce the labor shortage, Chernyshov singled out two main approaches: increasing labor productivity and attracting as many workers as possible.

He emphasized three ways to attract employees:

1. Preservation and development of internal human capital. This includes education reform, mass retraining, economic inclusion, support for women’s entrepreneurship, high standards of health care, return of veterans to economic activity, integration of people with disabilities and internally displaced persons into the labor market.
2. The return and involvement of Ukrainians from abroad, which is a significant personnel resource. He reminded that there are more than 6 million forced Ukrainian migrants outside the country, and together with labor migrants and the diaspora, this number exceeds 20 million people.
3. Attracting highly qualified foreign specialists, which requires a broad public discussion and agreed policy.

According to Chernyshov, investments and development of innovations are necessary to increase productivity. The Deputy Prime Minister noted a positive signal in the form of the adoption of the Strategy for the Digital Development of Innovations until 2030, as well as new programs to support industrial parks and Ukrainian business. He emphasized that common understanding of the importance of private sector development and investment attraction is part of national unity.