The Ukrainians, who fled the war in ’'s countries, have the right to live and work in AB’ for up to three years.
This section of the ’ takes a look at the challenges Ukrainians may face when trying to find a job and asks the question: What does this refugee influx mean for Europe’'s workforce and economy?
Real Economy travels to ’, Austria, to hear the stories of two Ukrainian women who recently arrived with their children. We also ask Johannes Kopf’a AB’, head of the European Network of Public Employment Services, what he is doing to help Ukrainians find jobs.
Opportunities in the tourism sector
More than 40,000 Ukrainian refugees live in ’, Austria, with their children. A temporary residence permit allows these people to live and work in the country.
Natalia settled in the region of Carinthia in the south of the country, known for its mountains and lakes. Ukraine’da was a beautician. When he arrived at a local refugee centre, the hotel managers offered him accommodation and a job.
“I really like working here, says ”. “We signed a contract until September, then UkraineI will look at how the situation will develop in ’.”
AustriaThe tourism sector in ’ is growing rapidly, and since 2019’, the number of open jobs in the hospitality sector has doubled, many employers have not been able to find staff.
For manager Alexandra Tiefenbacher, it was an obvious choice to offer suitable rooms and vacancies for Ukrainian refugees for the summer season.
“Currently 60 to 70 people live here, says ”. “, and 29 of them ’u work for us in various departments: kitchen, restaurant, cleaning, construction services, child care. It's going pretty well. "Of course there is a language barrier, but we can overcome it." - ”
Natalia speaks a little English, which allows her to communicate with her colleagues. But it's hard to balance work commitments with the care of her 5-year-old daughter.
“Zor” says. There's a children's playroom here, but it closes at 4:30pm “. If I have a shift that ends at 11pm ’, I still have to find someone to babysit.
More than 7 million Ukrainians have left their country since the beginning of ’'s war in Ukraine, but an estimated 2 million have returned home. Mostly women and children.
They may face a variety of challenges in finding work, especially taking care of children and finding childcare or a school location. They may be experiencing severe trauma. Newcomers Ukrainians may not always speak the language of their new country and their qualifications may not be recognized.
Helping Ukrainians access jobs
To help with this, the EU provides language courses and training, as well as instructions in the Ukrainian language on how to access the job market.
The European Commission is helping EU employers understand and recognize qualifications in Ukraine’ and has translated Europass’ into Ukrainian’, where users create a resume for use across Europe.
It has also translated the EU Skills Profile Tool into Ukrainian. The tool helps map the skills, qualifications and work experience of refugees, migrants and non-EU nationals residing in AB’.
The European Commission is also launching a ‘AB Talent Pool’ to match the skills of Ukrainian refugees with open job positions.
Obstacles in other sectors
Austria’ does not have qualified personnel in other sectors such as health and informatics. However, although half of the Ukrainian refugees registered in the country have university degrees, these positions are difficult to access immediately.
Ganna Zhygun, a mother of three and a German teacher from Ukraine’, recently arrived in Vienna’.
“The most important thing for me was to find a school place for my three children, ” says. “Now that I've found this, I'm looking for a job.”
Ganna wants to work as a German teacher to help other refugees who do not speak the language, but her diploma is not recognized in ’, Austria.
“My training documents need to be translated, legally approved and recognized, ” explains. “This is a problem, it takes a long time.”
Ganna’ya, the staff of the business center established to help refugees in Vienna’, helps in this process.
In the business center, consultant Marjana Çelebi says “We accompany them to appointments. “We translate and help when needed. Our goal is to build an extensive network with all relevant partners so we can help as quickly as possible.”
Ganna, meanwhile, receives a minimum wage and health insurance, just like other refugees registered in the Austrian ’.
The Vienna employment center is part of the Austrian Public Employment Service ’nin (AMS). Johannes Kopf, president of AMS’, is also head of AB’'s Public Employment Service network.
Real Economy’den spoke with Naomi Lloyd about how managing the influx of Ukrainian refugees at European level is an important priority.
He explained how countries support each other and share their experiences.
Share best practices
Kopf, “The subject came up only a few days after the start of this terrible war, says ”. When our Polish colleagues informed the network that the first Ukrainians were coming and would need help. This has led to a really big wave of solidarity in public employment services all over Europe.
“There are some countries: Sweden, Germany, Austria have gained a lot of experience in the refugee crisis in 2015/16 and beyond. For example, to organize the process of recognition of skills or how to organize individual skill mappings in their mother tongue.”
He explained that currently arriving refugees have special needs that are different from previous refugee crises.
“Most of those who come now are women with young children, and of course they have different needs. Most importantly, child care is needed. Austria’ needs to organize a sufficient number of places in schools, kindergartens, etc. The next step is to enter the job market.”
The European Network for Public Employment Services plays a key role in matching the skills of newly arrived Ukrainians with the needs of the labor market and has made clear its solidarity with Ukrainians and its commitment to supporting those fleeing the war.
How can Europe overcome the challenge of successfully integrating Ukrainian refugees?
Real Economy posed the question to Sandra Leitner’e, an expert on migration movements at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies.
If it's just about labor market integration, not taking into account the cultural aspect and political response, I think we've learned a lot from previous waves of migration about what's important to facilitate the transition to the labor market, “ says.
“And these are: language, education, recognition of qualifications. I think anyone can be welcomed when all these elements are present.”
According to Johannes Kopf’, helping Ukrainians integrate means, above all, solidarity with refugees.
Asked how newcomers from Ukraine’ could help with skills and labor shortages at AB’, he replied:
“Of course, there are open positions and companies that really work hard to find skilled staff and hope to find IT professionals from, for example, Ukraine’. Oh, of course.
But I don't like to confuse asylum or refugee issues with the needs of the labor market. Yes, it is better to integrate all these people instead of paying them outreach benefits. But first and foremost, it is a human problem. - ”
