Ukraine is already short of personnel, it will need to attract migrants - demographer Libanova

Ukraine is already short of personnel and will need to attract migrants in the future, said Ella Libanova, director of the Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences. She stated this in an interview with "RBC-Ukraine.

"There is already a shortage of personnel. We have low salaries, and people are forced to leave the country in search of a more decent wage. I have spoken about this repeatedly and to more than one convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, but who listens to science? Everyone needs to understand an important thing: the authorities of any country where our migrants have gone are not interested in their return to Ukraine," she said.

According to her, Ukraine will need to attract migrants, but it is important to use it properly.

"I have no doubt that we will attract migrants. We simply have no other choice. And our poverty will help us here. Ukraine will remain a poor country for a long time. [...] Because of poverty, we will not be able to pay generous remuneration to migrants. People will not come here for social benefits. Those who really want to work will come here. This is our "plus," but we need to use it wisely," she said.

Libanova noted that much depends on whether there will be a "Marshall Plan" for Ukraine. In her opinion, it will happen.

"If there is money, jobs, and large corporations come, it will create a different level of employment. That's why Americans and Europeans can come here. Partly for humanitarian reasons, to help, there are enthusiasts in every country, partly for self-realization, because here you can realize yourself faster and better, because there will be a clear space for this. The principles are different here," the demographer said.

She believes that then it will be necessary to build the right migration policy, in particular, so that Ukrainian refugees "do not feel cut off and unnecessary in their homeland."

"It is critical for us that they return, but it must be done competently. When I heard the idea of some authorities to pay compatriots for their return, I was surprised, to put it mildly. Because they will be paid for returning, but those who have been living in a destroyed house in Kharkiv, for example, all this time will not be paid," added Libanova.

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