More than three years into the full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to face widespread disruption to livelihoods, labor markets, and household economic security. The need for sustainable, self-reliant and resilient livelihood opportunities for households has intensified as the protracted conflict persists and humanitarian funding continues to be cut.
To inform ongoing programming in Ukraine, Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) engaged Gradus Research to assess livelihood needs and labor market conditions across seven regions: Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. The assessment combined desk research with 2,200 online surveys (53% female respondents) and found that geographic location, displacement, gender, age and ability significantly shape labor market opportunities and barriers in Ukraine.
Key findings:
- High interest in reskilling: Sixty-six percent (66%) of respondents expressed interest in acquiring a new profession, and 55% reported considering reskilling.
- Vulnerable groups face greater barriers: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), women, people with disabilities, and veterans face distinct barriers to employment, which suggest the need for adapted retraining, sector pathways and support services.
- Motivation but limited capacity: Strong motivation to retrain exists across age groups; however, unstable housing and utilities, combined with low trust in training providers, reduce the ability to participate in training and seek employment.
- Preferred reskilling sector: Respondents most frequently selected information technology (IT) (29%), services (18%), and logistics and transportation (16%). IT was preferred due to remote training and work possibilities, and was more popular among men (35%) than women (24%).
- Demographic variation. Men most often selected IT, logistics, and construction, while women preferred services, psychology, and cosmetology. Youth expressed interest in marketing, business, and law.