A major personnel crisis inexorably affects key sectors of the domestic economy. Factories are shutting down, hospitals are understaffed, and construction sites are quiet. Emigration and mobilization reduced the number of workers available everywhere. This has increased the burden on those employees who have remained and encourages the search for new specialists.
Steel the professions of electrician, seamstress, plumber, carpenter and electric gas welder are in high demand. In the woodworking industry and furniture production, the situation is also difficult. Craftsmen who once made furniture left to earn money or changed professions. Production owners have difficulties in finding qualified specialists. Due to the lack of personnel, small workshops are closed, and large factories are forced to reduce production.
In response to these challenges, some businesses are considering hiring foreign workers. This can serve as an example for other enterprises with similar problems and change approaches to personnel policy and working conditions. What problems are faced by business managers who have dared to patch personnel «holes» by attracting foreign human resources?
Why did the Transcarpathian factory invite and then refuse workers from Bangladesh
IA It’s already a fact wrote, that due to a lack of personnel, the furniture company «Lamella» in the Tyachiv community planned to hire 160 workers from Bangladesh. The company offered an average salary of 25 thousand hryvnias, free lunches and transportation to the workplace within a radius of 50 km. Currently, the enterprise employs 430 people, but after the increase in capacity there was a need to fill 700 jobs.
Despite the created conditions, the enterprise collided with a shortage of labor force and held negotiations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the employment of Bangladeshis under the terms of a labor contract. This caused a contradictory reaction: if experts see this as a normal practice, some citizens criticize the decision, pointing out possible problems with working conditions and integration of migrants.
This case could become an important signal for the Ukrainian labor market, because the involvement of foreign workers is a widespread trend in other countries, which solve the problem of personnel shortage in this way. But here is the development of this precedent.
Currently, «Lamella» has stopped recruiting workers from abroad. After an attempt to attract 60 Bangladeshis, some of the potential workers did not receive visas, complicating the process. Commercial director of «Lamella» told, that the company planned to attract foreigners through an international recruiting company, but no workers ever arrived. A hotel in the city for long-term accommodation has already been purchased and arranged for them. Initially, visa applications were submitted for six people: three were rejected, and the rest remained in an uncertain status. Later, the factory ordered 25 more workers through a recruitment agency, paying all the necessary fees, but the decision regarding their documents was delayed.
The process of attracting foreigners has been finally stopped. Now the company will look for workers among Ukrainians with the help of the employment center. The factory is ready to hire citizens of Ukraine regardless of their place of residence, and also provides housing for Transcarpathians and internally displaced persons. In addition, the company provides reservation against mobilization in accordance with current legislation.
To what extent is this a new trend — labor migration from Asia to Ukraine
Labor migration from Asia to Ukraine — a phenomenon that until recently seemed distant — is becoming a reality today. The intention of «Lamella» to attract Bangladeshis to work at the furniture factory had become the first systematic case of mass recruitment of labor migrants from this country to Ukraine.
However, the involvement of foreign workers in Ukraine is accompanied by a number of challenges. Procedure for employment of foreigners requires obtaining permission from the employer to use the labor of foreigners and stateless persons. To do this, you need to submit a package of documents to the State Employment Service. It includes an application, copies of pages of the foreigner’s passport with a Ukrainian translation, a color photo card, a draft employment contract and other documents depending on the situation. The process can be long and difficult, especially for companies that are experiencing it for the first time.
Even after obtaining an employment permit, foreign workers can get refusal to issue a visa. Among the reasons for refusal may be an incomplete or incorrectly completed package of documents, the provision of unreliable information or forged documents, lack of confirmation of the purpose of the planned stay, lack of evidence of the intention to return to the country of origin after the end of the stay, a threat to national security or public order, lack of a valid health insurance policy, insufficient financial support for the period of stay.
Ukrainian laws on employment of foreigners have changed still in 2022. Procedures for obtaining permits have been simplified and some restrictions have been lifted. But bureaucratic difficulties still exist, making it difficult to attract foreign labor.
Personnel challenge for Ukraine: how to overcome the labor shortage
According to official data, at the end of December 2024, 94,200 unemployed people were registered, of which 80% were women. The National Bank of Ukraine believes that real unemployment rate higher. In 2024, it was about 14.2% (approximately 2 million people). The forecast for 2025 predicts a decrease to 11.6%.
State and regional authorities are trying compensate lack of workers due to various programs. They integrate internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, veterans and migrants into the national labor market. This should help attract additional labor resources and reduce the shortage of personnel.
However, despite these efforts, the problem remains relevant. According to forecasts, by 2035 in Ukraine will be lacking 4.5 million workers, which can significantly affect the rate of economic growth.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov named two key ways to solve the problem of labor shortage in the state: increasing labor productivity and returning Ukrainians who left due to the war. He emphasized that without the mass involvement of the workforce, the reconstruction of the country will be too slow.
Promptly at the local level respond regional military administrations and employment centers are trying to meet the challenges. They organize retraining courses, job fairs and cooperate with businesses, helping to close personnel «holes». In some regions, in particular, in the Lviv region, special programs are being introduced to return forced migrants to work, and in the Kyiv region, vocational education centers are actively developing.
Looking for an outlet and business: companies are offering higher wages, creating on-the-job training programs and considering bringing in foreign workers. Simultaneously the survey of the European Business Association testifies: 71% of companies experience a shortage of personnel, which puts their competitiveness at risk.
But is society ready to accept the idea of attracting foreign workers? Surveys show that the majority of Ukrainians are in favor of creating conditions for the return of compatriots, rather than opening borders for migrants. President of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine Oleksiy Miroshnychenko directly stated:»»We cannot do without attracting foreign workers, but qualified ones».
…Therefore, the problem of personnel shortage requires a comprehensive approach. Ukraine was faced with a choice: either urgently reform the employment policy, stimulating the return of Ukrainians and modernizing the professional training system, or open the labor market to foreigners. Whether the country will be able to withstand the challenges of time and become attractive not only to investors, but also to its own citizens depends on the decisions made today.
Tetyana Viktorova
