Jobs for Ukraine. According to Need, Within Limits

In Search of Stability

Can it, therefore, be claimed that Ukrainian nationals have been successfully introduced to the Polish labour market? According to labour ministry data, over 766,000 migrants had found legal employment in Poland by December 2022.

“Even prior to the recent conflict, Ukrainians had constituted a majority of thousands in Poland, while the figure for other nationalities has remained in the hundreds, as proven by Social Security Authority data. Thanks to the amended Foreign Citizens Law and subsequent special-purpose law, employing Ukrainian nationals has become a piece of cake. Were it not for the war, it might well be assumed that some of these engineers, IT specialists, physicians or teachers would have never considered leaving their country”, says CEO at Gremi Personal Tomas Bogdevic. He further points out that the situation of Ukrainians today differs greatly from what it had been in late February. While they had been happyto accept any work they could find in the early days for economic reasons, employment affording them time to find their bearings in Polish reality, they are now attempting to return to their acquired professions in ever-increasing numbers. People considering the option of a housing loan and staying in Poland for good are seeking full-time employment - the surer road to stability. “On the other hand, people sitting on the fence or dreaming of returning home the moment the war is over opt for short-term contracts, ones easy to terminate if required”, he remarks.

Command of the Language is Key

Experts are openly admitting that things are much rosier on the unskilled jobs market, and getting thorny in the specialist employment segment, including management staff positions. Yet there is an explanation. Much has depended and will depend on the command of languages, Polish and English in particular.

Candidly put, the language barrier means that only some Ukrainian nationals have been given work matching their qualifications. “Failing to meet language competencies remains the fundamental obstacle. In the case of some higher-level positions, legal differences have proven an issue as well. Individuals affected by aforementioned concerns are more willing to sign up for additional training courses with a view to expand their skills and qualifications”, adds Katarzyna Szostakiewicz, labour market expert and head of the team responsible for recruiting foreign nationals at Manpower.

Szostakiewicz points out that refugees have filled only some of the Polish labour market vacancies. Primarily for Labour Health & Safety regulation-related reasons, recruiting female employees for heavier work - typical in the automotive or manufacturing industries - is not an option. “Women and children continue to prevail in the refugee community. Shelter was the first and basic need of any refugee crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border. People began seeking employment only after the initial acclimatisation period. The choice of job offers was far from obvious as well: while refugees travelling solo were ready to accept any work coming their way, people with children were more inclined to pick and choose, usually opting for very specific propositions, such as temporary or occasional jobs or double-shift employment. Organising childcare was a must”, she says. And things would occasionally be difficult, we are told.

Our interviewees pointed out that a lot has been done legislation-wise to make finding qualification- and skill-matching jobs easier for foreign nationals. Regulations in force since 30 December 2020 are a case in point, affording foreigners an easier and simpler path into employment in the Polish healthcare system. A special-purpose law has been designed to accommodate physicians, dentists, nurses, midwives and paramedics. Today, it also applies to circumstances following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Consequently, Poland currently employs nearly 2,000 foreign physicians, half of whom are Ukrainian.

Experts are calling attention to the fact that following the early ad hoc action stage, employers and employees from beyond Poland’s eastern border have begun entering an adaptation period. This is particularly true for candidates who had been holding specialist or managerial positions in Ukraine.

“Observable market trends include such individuals taking up employment in their acquired professions, yet in lower-level positions”, remarks Executive Director at Hays Poland Agnieszka Pietrasik. She follows up her statement with the example of accountants accepting financial assistant positions in Poland as a temporary solution allowing them to learn Polish while exploring the new business and legislative environment.

With Going Back Home in Mind

The OTTO Work Force Central Europe international recruitment agency has surveyed Ukrainians, asking their opinion regarding working in Poland. Seventy-nine percent of respondents have declared to be satisfied with their jobs, 59 percent further stating that finding work was not a problem. Sixty percent listed being separated from the family as the greatest daily life-related difficulty. It thus comes as no surprise that 49 percent of respondents intend to return to Ukraine as soon as the war is over. The recently published survey results have also revealed that 40 percent of participants would expect Poland to provide greater systemic assistance with regard to Polish classes, as the aforementioned language barrier unquestionably remains the most frequently listed obstacle.

The Manpower expert emphasises that two refugee groups seeking assistance in finding employment can be identified. One comprises candidates openly declaring interest in temporary or occasional work only, firmly believing that once the situation beyond Poland’s eastern border has calmed down, they will be able to rebuild their lives in Ukraine. For the time being, their expectations include accommodation options, ideally extending to entire families; social support; and remuneration allowing them to live in Poland.

The other group includes refugees who have decided to stay in Poland and seek social status similar to the one they were forced to abandon in their home country. They are chiefly interested in career development and skill expansion options, such as new technical skill certificates.

CEO of OTTO Work Force Central Europe Tomasz Dudek comments that friends and family members already employed in Poland have helped refugees find their bearings on the local job market. As per the quoted corporate report, the vast majority (the share reaching 44 percent) have found employment specifically on recommendation by friends and family.

“As a result of the conflict in Ukraine, the Polish job market faces staff shortages, primarily in male professions requiring physical strength or specialist technical certification. Manufacturing workers have been the most sought-after group in 2022, mainly in the automotive and logistics industries. Forklift truck operators and order picking-and-completion staff were really hard to find”, Dudek says, pointing out that the effort to fill all vacancies has been so far unsuccessful.

International Projects Director at the Trenkwalder recruitment agency Daniel Sola echoes his words: it is noteworthy that prior to war outbreak, emigration from Ukraine had been a typical, economic factor-driven phenomenon.

“Arrivals to Poland were predominantly male, a perfect match for demand in the manufacturing or logistics industry, for example. After 24 February, wartime emigration has been the prevailing type: women, children, the elderly. Not all job positions formerly held by Ukrainian men can be adapted for female employment purposes, work requiring heavy lifting and physical strength being the flagship case in point”, he says. In other cases, we are told, attempts can be made; the Trenkwalder agency has, for example, introduced a professional activation programme targeting Ukrainian women. The “Female Forklift Truckers” programme has been designed as an offer of free-of-charge training coures; graduates are issued an Office of Technical Inspection (UDT) certificate and offered employment with local business partners. The rather diplomatic response to the question regarding interest in the programme: “Recruitment is ongoing”. ©℗