Rebuilding Ukraine Takes More Than Concrete: ILO Puts Jobs and Skills at the Centre of Recovery

As Ukraine grapples with labour shortages, ongoing Russian aggression and reconstruction pressures, the ILO is sharpening its focus on jobs, skills and stronger labour institutions. Its 2026–2029 programme highlights a defining recovery challenge: rebuilding the economy while ensuring workers, businesses and communities can participate in and benefit from the process.

Ukraine's reconstruction is confronting a challenge that physical rebuilding alone cannot resolve. Labour shortages, employment needs and pressure on institutions are complicating the country's economic recovery even as Russian aggression continues. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is responding by examining how its Decent Work Country Programme for 2026–2029 can help strengthen the labour market and expand opportunities for workers and businesses.

A visit by ILO Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Peter van Rooij has brought these priorities into sharper focus. His consultations with government representatives, employers' organizations and workers' organizations centred on employment, skills, labour institutions and social dialogue. The discussions signal an effort to connect Ukraine's immediate economic pressures with the longer-term requirements of a fair and sustainable recovery.

The underlying challenge extends beyond the number of jobs created. Ukraine also needs conditions in which businesses can access workers, people can participate in economic activity and institutions can support decent employment. The ILO's programme places these interconnected priorities within a single recovery framework, reflecting the complexity of rebuilding an economy while conflict-related pressures persist.

Labour shortages are turning reconstruction into a workforce challenge

Ukraine's economic recovery faces simultaneous demands for reconstruction, employment creation and workforce development. Labour shortages introduce an additional constraint, making the availability of workers and relevant skills an important consideration for businesses and institutions involved in rebuilding economic activity. Addressing these pressures requires attention to both employment opportunities and the capacity of the labour market to support them.

The ILO's emphasis on skills suggests that labour market recovery cannot be approached solely through expanding the number of available jobs. Opportunities must also connect with people who can access them and possess the capabilities required for economic participation. Employment policy and skills development therefore occupy related positions within the country's wider reconstruction priorities.

Businesses and workers encounter different dimensions of the same challenge. Employers need conditions that allow economic activity to continue and expand, while workers need accessible employment opportunities and decent working conditions. The programme's focus on both groups recognises that recovery cannot depend exclusively on business activity without addressing the people and institutions supporting it.

Labour shortages also sharpen the distinction between immediate recovery needs and longer-term economic resilience. Responding to current workforce constraints is necessary, but strengthening employment systems and opportunities requires sustained institutional attention. The 2026–2029 programme provides a framework for pursuing these objectives together rather than treating labour shortages as an isolated concern.

Why labour institutions could determine the quality of recovery

Employment is only one component of the ILO's agenda in Ukraine. The inclusion of labour institutions and social dialogue reflects a wider recognition that sustainable economic recovery also depends on how employment relationships are governed and how decisions affecting workers and businesses are developed.

Van Rooij's meetings with the ILO's tripartite constituents brought together the three groups central to this process: government, employers and workers. Their participation provides a structure for examining labour market priorities from different institutional perspectives, particularly when reconstruction creates overlapping demands involving employment, skills and working conditions.

For government, the programme offers an avenue for aligning labour-related initiatives with national recovery priorities. Employers' organizations contribute perspectives on business conditions and workforce needs, while workers' organizations represent employment and labour concerns. Social dialogue creates an institutional setting in which these priorities can be considered together, although the consultations have not been presented as producing specific new policy agreements.

The distinction between consultation and implementation remains important. Discussions can clarify where support is needed, but the programme's effectiveness will depend on how identified priorities translate into practical activities. Its broad agenda raises questions about the balance between expanding employment opportunities, strengthening labour institutions and supporting cooperation among different stakeholders.

International coordination forms another dimension of this effort. Van Rooij met UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale, the UN country team and development partners during the visit. These engagements connect the ILO's employment-focused work with the broader international response to Ukraine's recovery needs.

Irpin's childcare initiatives reveal the wider barriers to employment

The recovery challenge becomes more tangible at the community level, where opportunities to participate in economic activity can depend on services extending beyond the workplace. During his visit to Irpin in the Kyiv region, Van Rooij observed ILO-supported initiatives delivered through local partnerships, including expanded childcare services and pathways towards employment and economic participation.

Childcare show how economic inclusion can involve practical conditions that influence access to work. Employment opportunities may exist, but participation can also depend on whether people have the support needed to pursue them. By incorporating childcare alongside employment-related initiatives, the ILO's local engagement reflects a broader approach to removing barriers to economic participation.

The Irpin initiatives also illustrate the relationship between national programme objectives and local delivery. While employment, skills and institutional development are being discussed at the national level, community partnerships provide opportunities to respond to needs in specific locations. The scale of these initiatives and their measurable employment outcomes have not been detailed, leaving their wider reach an important question.

A further challenge lies in ensuring that local experience informs programme implementation without assuming that a single community initiative represents conditions across Ukraine. The ILO has indicated that insights gathered from national and local partners will shape the next phase of the Decent Work Country Programme, suggesting that consultation findings will influence the direction of continued support.

The programme now faces the task of connecting several priorities within one recovery agenda: workforce availability, skills, institutional capacity, social dialogue and inclusive access to economic opportunities. Progress will depend on how these objectives are translated into defined activities and whether they deliver practical benefits for workers, businesses and communities.