Named the main problems with the employment of Ukrainian refugees in Europe

Speaking about the problems with the employment of Ukrainian refugees in European countries, the Associated Press agency cites the example of 41-year-old lawyer Lyudmila Chudievich from Western Ukraine, who was forced to leave her job and home and move to the West. But instead of practicing law, she had to get a job as a housekeeper in one of the hotels in Prague. “It’s just a different phase of my career,” she said. “It’s just the way it is.”

According to the Associated Press, Chudievich believes that she was generally lucky with her job. Not fluent enough in Czech or English, Chudijevic said she didn’t mind the job as long as she and her daughter were safe.

Although the European Union introduced rules early in the conflict to make it easier for Ukrainian refugees to live and work in the 27 EU member states, while they decide whether to seek asylum or return home, many are only now beginning to find work and many still face hardships.

About 6.5 million Ukrainians have arrived in the EU since February, heading to neighboring countries, before many moved to more prosperous countries in the West, according to the EU border and coast guard agency Frontex. About half have since returned to Ukraine.

Only a relatively small number of those who remained entered the EU labor market by mid-June, according to the European Commission.

A recent report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which examines the potential impact of Ukrainian refugees on the EU workforce, predicts it will be about twice as large as during the 2014-2017 influx of refugees, when many of them fled the conflict. in Syria.

The study estimates that the Czech Republic, which has the lowest unemployment rate in Europe, will have the most Ukrainians by the end of the year, followed by Poland and Estonia. The report says that around 1.2 million workers will be added to the European workforce as a whole, mostly in the service sector.

However, the influx of Ukrainian refugees is unlikely to lead to lower wages or higher unemployment in European countries, many of which face labor shortages due in part to an aging population.

“Given the labor needs of the main host countries, a negative impact on the employment or wages of the resident population…seems very unlikely,” the report states.

The EU’s efforts to help Ukrainians have been praised by the United Nations Refugee Agency and other human rights organizations working on migration issues. But they also note a big difference in the treatment of people fleeing wars or poverty in the Middle East, Africa or Asia, who often have to wait years before overcoming obstacles to obtaining a residence or work permit.

However, Ukrainian refugees looking for work still face many challenges, the Associated Press notes. In addition to language barriers, skilled workers from Ukraine often lack documents confirming their professional qualities in order to get a higher paying job. Their diplomas may not be recognized in host countries, meaning many have to take language and training courses before they can find professional opportunities.

Since men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine, the majority of refugees are women with children, which can be an additional barrier to finding work. Many women are still weighing their options and may decide to return home in time for the school year in September, even though the conflict is far from over, officials say.

According to Polish Minister of Labor and Social Policy Marlena Malag, in Poland, which hosted about 1 million Ukrainian refugees, more than any other EU country, just over a third found work. Some have taken jobs as nurses or Ukrainian language teachers in Polish schools, while others work as housekeepers or waitresses.

In Portugal, some of the country’s largest companies have special employment programs for Ukrainians, and the Employment and Skills Institute offers free Portuguese language courses.

In Germany, about half of Ukraine’s roughly 900,000 refugees have registered with the country’s employment agency, although there is no data on how many actually found work. The Mediendienst Integration group, which tracks migration in Germany, reports that about half of them have higher education, but does not specify how many of them were able to work in their professional field.

The Associated Press cites the example of Natalia Borisova, who was editor-in-chief of a morning TV show in Lvov and left for Europe in March with her daughters, 11 and 13, and settled in Cologne. She took a low-paying job as a housekeeper, but eventually decided to give it up to focus on learning German: “I’m an optimist and I’m sure I’ll find a job after learning the language. Perhaps at a different level than in Ukraine, but in the same area. Now it just doesn’t make sense for me to work for the minimum wage.”

Borisova, like other Ukrainian refugees, receives an allowance from the German government that helps the family pay for food and housing, but said she wants to return to work as soon as she can speak German.