*The survey report is available for download via the form below.

Human Capital Crisis: Will Reskilling Women and Older People Help Ukraine?

Ukraine is already experiencing a shortage of human resources, which will be exacerbated by a full-scale war and the resulting migration. One of the solutions that can stabilize the situation is the reskilling of various socio-demographic groups (women, the older population, etc.). On September 25, at the IX Conductors of Changes Forum, Gradus Research and Deloitte Ukraine presented the results of a survey on whether Ukrainians are ready to change their profession, what are the barriers and drivers to this, whether Ukrainian women consider retraining for stereotypically “male” professions, and whether Ukrainians are ready to work after reaching retirement age and under what conditions.

Despite the constant wartime challenges, the level of employment is high - 79% of the surveyed citizens currently have a job and work full or part-time. Of these, 58% work more than 30 hours a week.

Three quarters of Ukrainians (73%) have changed their occupation. The majority of gender and age groups have experience of changing their profession. Among the 45+ age group, as many as 79% of respondents have changed their occupation. While young people (58%) and residents of the eastern part of Ukraine (68%) have changed jobs the least.

As for the experience of additional training to improve skills and/or learn a new profession, one-third of respondents (31%) take it once a year or more often. Women and the younger age group are generally more likely to take additional training courses.

The opportunity to obtain a new specialty, which is traditionally considered a male profession, is considered by 45% of women. Interestingly, young people and residents of the Western and Northern regions and Kyiv are more inclined to do so.

As for the willingness to work after reaching retirement age, 73% of respondents express this desire. Most of them plan to stay in the profession.

“Ukraine is a territory of high turbulence, and this is our strength. We see that Ukrainians have mostly adapted to life in a state of war, are actively working and ready to relearn. However, despite the fact that the vast majority of respondents declare openness to new things and believe that a person can learn new professions and study throughout life, 88% of respondents consider this possibility if it leads to an increase in their earnings. This means that in practice, people follow the usual and respond to familiar incentives. This is a clue to how to motivate people to help the country recover from the talent shortage,” comments Evgeniya Blyznyuk, sociologist, CEO&Founder of Gradus Research.

“Ukraine has a significant potential to attract new talent among those groups of people who are currently less active in the labor market: women, the elderly, young people, and others. Many of them are open to new opportunities, willing to learn and ready to change their profession. However, there are challenges to consider. Almost a quarter of respondents have never changed their occupation, and the same number have not undergone additional training or advanced training (among the older generation, this figure reaches 31%). In addition, 41% of older people do not consider learning a new profession, and 43% of women do not consider retraining for stereotypically “male” professions. Also, a significant portion of the workforce has only basic knowledge of English, which limits their opportunities in the labor market and the ability of the state and business to cooperate with international partners in the process of rebuilding Ukraine.

The survey emphasizes the importance of government and business support for training and reskilling programs. Although Ukrainians are open to new things, they remain cautious about changing their profession and acquiring new knowledge. Our task is to help the government and business develop strategies that will help unlock the country's human resource potential,” said Olena Boichenko, Partner at Deloitte Ukraine.

So who should be retrained for traditionally male professions? According to half of the respondents (50%), it should be women, followed by veterans (44%), people with disabilities (43%), and older people (42%).

At the same time, the level of stress and burnout among Ukrainian women is increasing. 45% of respondents indicate a higher level of stress compared to last year, and 38% of women say they feel more burnt out.

The survey report is available for download via the form below.

The survey was conducted by Gradus Research in cooperation with Deloitte Ukraine using a self-administered questionnaire in the Gradus mobile application. The sample reflects the population structure of cities with more than 50 thousand inhabitants aged 18-60 by gender, age, settlement size, and region, excluding the temporarily occupied territories and territories of active hostilities. Field period: September 18, 2024. Sample size: 1000 respondents.

The full survey report is available on a commercial basis and contains the following data by age, gender, region of residence, and size of settlement:

• Employment and reasons for unemployment
• Experience of changing occupation or profession, frequency of change
• Frequency of taking courses / additional training to improve skills and / or learn a new profession
• Level of openness to the possibility of obtaining a new profession for further employment
• The level of openness to the possibility of obtaining a new profession, which is traditionally (or stereotypically) considered male (among women)
• The level of openness to the possibility of continuing to work after reaching retirement age and in what format
• Intentions to continue learning throughout life
• Intentions to learn new professions throughout life
• Intentions to work in the same profession and at the same place for many years
• Willingness to learn a new profession if earnings increase
• Population categories for which it is most appropriate to implement retraining programs

To buy the full report, please contact dn@gradus.app