Main points
- Ukrainian employers are increasingly opening vacancies for people aged 50+ due to a shortage of personnel, and 66.3% of companies are ready to hire candidates over 60.
- The largest number of vacancies for older workers are offered in the fields of industry, medicine, education, agriculture, trade, energy, and housing and utilities, with an emphasis on practical experience.
In Ukraine, vacancies are being opened massively for people 50+ / Freepik
Ukrainian employers are increasingly opening vacancies for people aged 50+, and some companies are already ready to hire even candidates over 60. The reason is an acute shortage of personnel, which is forcing businesses to reconsider their approaches to hiring.
What positions are offered to Ukrainians 50+?
After a large-scale survey of over 60,000 employers, it became clear: the Ukrainian labor market is changing rapidly. This was reported by Yulia Zhovtyak, Director of the State Employment Service, in a comment to Ukrinform.
Almost 20,000 companies plan to recruit staff during the year, and 66.3% of them are willing to consider candidates aged 60+.
The largest number of vacancies for older workers are currently offered in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Poltava regions. These are the regions that suffer the most from the shortage of personnel.
People 50+ are most actively sought after in the following areas:
- industry;
- medicine;
- education;
- agricultural sector;
- trade;
- energy;
- Housing and communal services.
Specialists with practical experience are in particular demand : engineers, technologists, electricians, plumbers, agronomists, doctors, mechanics, and pharmacists.
Yulia Zhovtyak,
Director of the State Employment Service
Employers increasingly value the emotional stability, responsibility, loyalty to the company, and practical experience of older workers. For many industries, these qualities are becoming critically important in the face of staff shortages.
Employers separately note the role of such employees in mentoring and transferring professional experience.
However, the problem of ageism has not completely disappeared. According to Zhovtyak, many candidates are still evaluated based on stereotypes.
The main barrier for older candidates is often not age itself, but stereotypes about the “digital divide” and supposedly low adaptability. At the same time, companies that implement retraining programs usually demonstrate a higher willingness to hire. Today, age discrimination is mostly hidden. Instead of a direct rejection due to age, candidates often hear statements about “overqualification” or “incompatibility with the corporate culture”,
– Zhovtyak emphasized.
The State Employment Service also recalled that last year the bulk of the working population in Ukraine was made up of people aged 36 to 60 – almost two-thirds of all workers in the country.
What program is being launched for people 50+?
However, people over 50 often drop out of the labor market, but not because of a lack of experience, because employers value their reliability. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko spoke in more detail about the new project for them and the research into the problem.
The official discussed the forecast for the labor market with Ella Libanova, head of the M. V. Ptukha Institute of Demography of the NAS of Ukraine. In particular, the study “Labor Market after 50” showed:
- 65% of companies talk about a digital skills barrier;
- 60% recognize the influence of age stereotypes during hiring.
That is why the government is formulating a new employment policy, centered on human capital as the country's main resource. Its goal is not only to create new jobs, but also to reduce barriers to employment so that people of all ages can realize their potential.
“Experience Matters” is a national adult internship program for people 50+, which involves three key stages:
- Training and preparation for a new career stage: updating your resume, adapting to modern labor market requirements, and acquiring skills.
- Meeting with the employer and discussing the format of future cooperation.
- A job placement or short-term internship in a company with the possibility of further employment. During this period, the candidate becomes familiar with the work processes, and the employer can assess how well the person fits the position.
Everyone is needed for the economy in times of war and the country's recovery. We are working on incentives for employers and opportunities for people with experience to return to the labor market,
– the Prime Minister emphasized.
What are the reasons for the shortage of personnel in Ukraine?
In a comment for Channel 24, employment expert Valentyna Gavryushenko said that the reasons for the shortage of workers in the labor market vary depending on the business sector.
These reasons include both war and mobilization, as well as external migration. Demographic changes also play a role, as the war accelerated these processes, especially among the working-age population.
Valentina Gavryushenko,
HP Manager
It is also worth paying attention to the reason related to the structural mismatch of skills. That is, applicants often do not have the skills that employers need. This exacerbates the gap between supply and demand in the labor market.
In response to a request from Channel 24, Work.ua also noted that among the three main reasons for the shortage of personnel are war, demographic aging, and unemployment.
The OLX Jobs study emphasizes that due to the personnel crisis in 2025, employers have increased their hiring of older people, as well as people with UBD status and disabilities.
In addition, according to employment expert Valentyna Gavryushenko, one of the methods for employers to overcome the shortage of personnel has been to attract women to professions that are stereotypically considered “male.”
For example, women are becoming trolleybus, tram, forklift, and truck drivers. According to official employment service data, in 2025, tens of thousands of women began working in positions that were previously considered exclusively male,
– adds Havryushenko.
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What else is known about the labor market in Ukraine in 2026?
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Demand for remote work in Ukraine exceeds supply, with only 7% of vacancies being remote. Remote work is popular due to war, relocation, the desire for flexible schedules, and restrictions for certain groups of the population.
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Ukrainian employers are actively hiring foreign workers, particularly migrant workers from Bangladesh, due to a shortage of workers in construction, trade, and the processing industry. Hiring foreigners is 25-30% more expensive than hiring Ukrainians.