Ukraine’s Labour Market 2025: Challenges, Business Demands and Reform Strategies

What will Ukraine’s labour market look like in 2025? Are business, educational institutions and government ready for the real changes that are shaping new rules of the game? These were the exact questions discussed during the presentation and discussion “Ukraine’s Labour Market 2025: Challenges, Business Demands and Reform Strategies”, organised by Helvetas together with the State Employment Service and the Federation of Employers of Ukraine with the support of Sweden.

This event became an important platform for discussing pressing issues of integrating veterans, women, young people and internally displaced persons into Ukraine’s new economic reality.

The discussions were based on the results of a large-scale study involving almost 55,000 employers (a total of 4.2 million employees) and around 70,000 registered unemployed people. This data showed that 31.7% of businesses already faced difficulties finding staff last year. The greatest shortage of personnel is in water supply (53%), healthcare (46.2%), energy (44.1%), education (40%) and the agricultural sector (39%). At the same time, 32% of companies are planning to hire in 2025.

The discussions at the panel “Partnership for Change — How Business, Educational Institutions and Government Are Shaping a New Workforce” were particularly interesting. Experts analysed in detail the opportunities for creating real and effective cooperation mechanisms to adapt professional skills to the needs of tomorrow’s employers.

This topic is extremely relevant for Kyiv Oblast, as new economic centres are actively forming here and the labour market is expanding. The Kyiv Regional Development Agency team, together with partners, is actively working to help communities create new opportunities for employment and professional development for the people who need it most.

We thank the organisers for a valuable exchange of ideas and experience!