After the borders were opened for young people, Ivano-Frankivsk faced a labor shortage, especially in construction

A large number of men under the age of 22 have left Ivano-Frankivsk for abroad after the borders were opened to them, which has affected the labor market and caused an acute shortage of workers.

This was stated in an interview with Ukrainian News by the city’s mayor, Ruslan Martsinkiv.

According to him, the labor shortage is especially noticeable in sectors that require manual labor.

“Hair salons, the construction business — many relied on young guys of that age. They didn’t need deferments or exemptions. Many employers came to us with the problem that a lot of young men up to 23 years old have left,” the mayor said.

He suggested addressing the labor shortage not by bringing in migrants, but by encouraging women to take on traditionally male professions.

“We need to make an effort so that our people stay here. Are migrants the solution? No. We need retraining programs so that women can take up male professions. In our city, there’s a huge problem with bus drivers. We’ve developed a free training program for women drivers — two months of courses, and you get your license and can become a driver. It’s about retraining for professions that have always been considered male. Women are doing quite well. The state needs to work more in this direction,” Martsinkiv said.

Earlier, experts cited statistics showing that young people from Lviv are the most likely to leave Ukraine. In some workplaces there, up to 30% of young employees resign to move abroad.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the number of young Ukrainian men has increased tenfold.