A large majority of Ukrainian refugees in Poland have found work, new research has shown.
The study by the University of Warsaw’s Centre for East European Studies and the EWL Foundation for Support of Migrants on the Labour Market showed that 78 percent of Ukrainians in Poland were working, with the figure 12 percentage points higher among the pre-war Ukrainian expat population (83 percent compared to 71 percent of refugees). The researchers said this was largely due to better knowledge of the Polish language among that group.
The report’s authors also said that Poland had achieved great success in ensuring that Ukrainian refugees have found work.
“Thanks to training programmes and support from Polish employers, Ukrainian citizens have the opportunity to study Polish and to gain new qualifications enabling them to work in their professions and strengthen the labour market, among other things by taking up work in key sectors for the Polish economy,” said Andrzej Korkus, CEO of the EWL Foundation’s Migration Platform.
The research also showed, however, that only 35 percent of Ukrainians in Poland held positions consistent with their qualifications, again with a large difference between pre- and post-war migrants. Of those present in Poland before the war, 42 percent declared they were working in line with their qualifications compared to just 23 percent of post-war arrivals.
The researchers suggested that those who intend to stay longer-term would find more appropriate work as their Polish language skills improved.
The research was conducted between March 4 and 13, 2023, on a sample of 500 Ukrainian citizens in over a dozen towns and cities nationwide.
