The shortage of men threatens the maintenance of production volumes, so companies have begun to attract women to “male” positions. This is evidenced by the results of a study of labor market trends conducted by the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine.
The Confederation of Employers of Ukraine noted that after the full-scale invasion, the role of women in the economy has been growing rapidly. “After the mobilization of men to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, medium and large enterprises faced a significant shortage of personnel, so women were transferred to fill the vacant positions. This practice exists in the areas of metalworking and agricultural processing in highly automated industries, if retraining can be done quickly. Often, the new position requires women to perform certain physical activities. This practice is spreading, in particular, in the furniture industry,” the study notes.
Among other new trends, the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine noted a threefold higher interest in starting a business among veterans than among ordinary Ukrainians. “Employers fear that when hiring veterans, they will face a difficult psycho-emotional state of such employees (79%), alcohol or drug addiction (25%), and conflict (24%). A way out may be the development of individual employment for veterans and people with disabilities. 63.6% of the surveyed veterans said they wanted to start their own business. This is three times more than in the country as a whole in peaceful 2018,” the study notes, citing previously published sociological research.
Other factors contributing to the development of self-employment among veterans include their unwillingness to accept their current social situation. “Companies record cases of dismissal of veterans for reasons that are not clear at first glance. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that the employee was in command of a unit during the war, but in civilian life he returns to the position of a subordinate. It is often difficult for demobilized employees to accept the fact that they received UAH 100,000 during their service and earn UAH 18-20,000 upon their return,” the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine study says.
Another trend in the labor market is the existing high level of distrust between employers and people with disabilities, as indicated by sociological research. This distrust is based on employers’ lack of knowledge about these people and their not always satisfactory level of qualifications. 61% of such people said that they are perceived as “unable to work” and “people with communication difficulties,” which is why employers do not want to hire them. This distrust creates a destructive phenomenon that makes it possible for some businesses to “rent” employment records to meet the 4 percent standard for hiring people with disabilities.
“Employers don’t believe in the ability of people with disabilities to work at a decent level, so they don’t want to let people they don’t trust into their companies. However, quite a few people who have recently received disability status have a specialty that they can work in in their new status. There are cases where people with disabilities are extremely qualified. As part of the Razom project, we interviewed a blind girl who graduated from the Shevchenko National University with a red diploma and simultaneously interprets three-hour negotiations while at home,” the Confederation of Employers noted. “For people with disabilities, work is extremely important, as it gives them some financial freedom and allows them to feel in demand. Staff turnover among people with disabilities is half that of employees without disabilities. The duration of work in the same position is significantly longer,” the study says.
Expectations of a negative reaction from society lead many companies to not disclose to customers the fact that services are provided by a person with a disability. In particular, this applies to transportation companies, although modern prostheses allow people with upper or lower limb amputations to adapt to driving cars and trucks or even special equipment.
The involvement of people with disabilities and veterans in the labor market is an important factor in compensating for the labor market shortage. The Confederation of Employers of Ukraine has developed the most comprehensive guide on employment of persons with disabilities, which contains practical advice on the legal requirements for their inclusion in the labor market.
The shortage of professional staff at construction sites in Ukraine is up to 50% in both technical and labor specialties, while salaries are showing positive dynamics, according to a survey of developers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
“The need for people on construction sites is only increasing as the construction market is gradually recovering, work is ongoing, and construction volumes are increasing. But the war continues, as does mobilization into the Armed Forces, so this certainly affects the labor market. In general, we can state that the level of workers employed in construction is about 40% of the pre-war level,” said Dmitry Novikov, Marketing Director of City One Development.
According to him, the most sought-after specialties include welders, operators of tower cranes and specialized construction equipment, and high-rise mountaineers. In addition, there is a shortage of ordinary construction workers and general laborers, Novikov noted.
According to Olga Pylypenko, Executive Director of Kovalska Group, more than 70% of the group’s vacancies are for workers, most of them concrete workers, reinforcing steelworkers and electricians.
“Today, the number of workers is already about 50%. Given the overall drop in demand, this labor force is in a fragile balance that can be upset if construction volumes increase,” she explained.
The lack of labor at Intergal-Bud’s construction sites was felt again in the fall after the start of the full-scale war, said its commercial director, Anna Laevska.
“At the beginning of the full-scale war, we felt a shortage of workers at construction sites, but the situation was resolved quickly enough. And until May 2023, there was practically no labor shortage. But in the last few months, we have been noticing a shortage of construction workers. We observe a shortage of all specialists,” the expert said.
According to her, the company’s construction volumes allow it to increase its staff by a third, but due to the shortage of personnel, it has to restructure its teams.
According to the Greenville Group, the staffing situation has somewhat leveled off compared to last year, but the group also experienced a labor shortage and began to re-staff construction teams.
“Currently, the shortage is 40% – all of them are highly qualified specialists. Among the scarce specialties on the market are electricians, crane operators, monolithic workers, handymen, and facade workers,” said Natalia Dubyk, project manager of the Greenville group of companies.
At the same time, Alliance Novobud managed to increase its staff at construction sites by expanding the types of work performed by its own labor force. In addition, the company noted an increase in female demand for construction jobs.
“Construction is mostly a male sphere, but amid the difficult situation with the search for workers and the overall economic situation in the country, there is some growth in interest in working on construction sites from women. Most often, these are painting professions related to interior decoration,” said Oleksandra Kachan, HR Director at Alliance Novobud.
The interviewed developers noted the positive dynamics of changes in the salaries of builders. Thus, Intergal-Bud and the Greenville Group of Companies estimated the salary growth in October 2023 at 15-20% compared to spring, and Kovalska Group – up to 25%. In general, developers expect further salary growth next year, provided the economic situation is stable.
At the same time, City One Development expects the shortage of personnel in the construction sector to increase after the war ends.
“Even after the specialists who are currently serving in the army return to work, it will still not be able to cover the shortage of personnel and compensate for the demand for professional construction specialists,” Novikov said.
A similar opinion was expressed by Oleksandr Nasikovsky, co-founder and managing partner of DIM Group. According to him, encouraging Ukrainians to get technical education should become a priority of government policy.
“The deepening deficit in certain highly skilled professions is due, in particular, to the low demand for technical education from young people. Today, there is an acute shortage of monolithic workers, crane operators, painters, and electricians. Encouraging Ukrainians to master construction specialties should be a priority for both the government and private businesses. The vocational education system must undergo radical changes. It will be useful to involve private players who are ready to create a kind of corporate training institutions and facilitate the acquisition of various professions by those who are willing,” the expert said.
