How to encourage Ukrainians to return home and what to expect
For many years, labour migration from Ukraine to Poland has been significant, but often temporary. However, it has become a more substantial factor in development since the start of the full-scale war.
The conflict of interest is intensifying because Ukraine is interested in bringing its citizens back home, while Poland (like many other EU countries that welcomed large numbers of Ukrainians for protection from the war) would prefer to retain skilled labour and young people.
Read more about what Ukraine should do to encourage the return of its citizens in the article by Oleksandra Betlii of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting: A common labour market with EU: how Ukraine can turn competition for people into partnership.
Poland is facing a deep demographic crisis and will need an additional 2.5 million workers by the end of 2025. At the same time, Ukraine critically needs these same specialists – builders, engineers and medical professionals for its own reconstruction.
In fact, both countries are competing for the same human resources.
Ukraine must become attractive enough that people return not out of obligation, but because of opportunities.
A crucial task for the government will be creating a favorable business climate in Ukraine, as well as ensuring a high quality of life for its citizens.
A favourable business climate means that Ukrainians who have already started businesses in Poland will also be able to start companies and work in Ukraine. Currently, Poland has effectively become a platform where Ukrainian businesses learn to operate under European rules before scaling across the continent.
Ukrainians are launching their own businesses in Poland across various sectors: they have already registered 150,000 individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) and thousands of companies.
Overall, more than 850,000 Ukrainians currently work in Poland. They make up about 5% of the country’s workforce and contribute added value to the economy.
However, Ukrainian labour is not yet fully beneficial to either side.
A significant portion of Ukrainians in Poland (and in other countries) work in positions that do not match their education due to complicated diploma recognition procedures and language barriers. In other words, they are not as productive as they could be.
To bring back Ukrainians who have worked in EU countries and integrate them actively into Ukraine’s labour market, reforms in labour regulation are necessary.
Specifically, this involves synchronising qualification systems. Ukraine is already working on establishing qualification centers that will recognise skills obtained in the EU.
This requires ensuring full alignment of the National Qualifications Framework with the European one, as well as adopting professional standards.
New legal frameworks must be implemented to allow lawful movement of labour while meeting the needs of both the Ukrainian and Polish economies.
For example, this could involve creating joint job and professional standard databases so that information about opportunities in Ukraine is accessible to those currently abroad.
It is important that both countries work on actively engaging economically inactive groups in the labour market. This will somewhat reduce the reliance on migrant labour.
Businesses should pay attention to previously overlooked groups: people aged 50+, youth and people with disabilities.
The return of Ukrainians cannot be forced. It will only happen if there are guarantees of safety, access to quality education, healthcare and housing.
Poland already understands that without access to quality education, medical care and social services, migrants will not stay in the country. They will move elsewhere. Ukraine must learn this lesson for its repatriation policy: competition is very high, not only with Poland but with other EU countries as well.