Ukraine businesses hire more women, teens as labour shortages bite

Ukrainian companies face labor shortages due to war, leading to increased hiring of women, teenagers, and older workers.

After spending years in what she described as "boring, sedentary" roles in the offices of several Ukrainian companies, Liliia Shulha landed her dream job as a truck driver with Ukraine's leading retailer, Fozzy Group.

"I always dreamed about big cars. Instead of (playing with) dolls, I drove cars when I was a child," she told Reuters.

"Now the situation is such that they take people without experience and they train. I was lucky," said Ms. Shulha, 40, wearing a company uniform in front of a large truck.

As the war with Russia drains the labour force, businesses are trying to cover critical shortages by hiring more women in traditionally male-dominated roles and turning to teenagers, students and older workers.

With millions of people, mostly women and children, abroad after fleeing the war, and tens of thousands of men mobilised into the army, the jobs crisis could endanger economic growth and a post-war recovery, analysts say.

Ukraine has lost over a quarter of its workforce since Russia's invasion in February 2022, central bank data showed.

Nearly 60% of businesses said finding skilled workers was their main challenge, an economy ministry survey of over 3,000 companies showed.