Due to the acute shortage of personnel in Ukraine, the government plans to more actively attract people aged 50+ and pensioners to the labor market, because they can become a key internal reserve instead of massively attracting labor migrants. To achieve this, they are launching the “Experience Matters” program, which will help older Ukrainians undergo training, internships and get a new job, and employers will help overcome personnel shortages.

This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko. The shortage of personnel is already especially acute in the construction industry, defense industry, service sector, logistics and manufacturing, where the need for specialists will only grow.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the personnel shortage in Ukraine has already reached 4.5 million workers. At the same time, the government is convinced that the country can do without the large-scale attraction of foreign labor migrants if it activates its own labor potential. Among those who are not currently working but could potentially return to the labor market:.

But the biggest reserve is pensioners. Today there are about 10.4 million pensioners in Ukraine, and almost 2.5 million of them are already working. However, according to demographers, at least 3.5 million more older people can be attracted to the labor market. It is for this purpose that the government announced a new national program “Experience Matters” - a special internship system for Ukrainians aged 50+. The program includes three main stages:.

You can apply for participation in the national program now - online through the website of the State Employment Service or offline at the nearest employment center. Subsequently, registration is also planned to be opened through the Diya portal and the Obriy system.. To participate in the program it is enough:.

After registration, participants will go through three stages. The pilot launch will take place in April 2026 in three cities:.

The pilot phase will last until October 2026, after which they plan to scale the program throughout Ukraine. Employers can also join the program separately.. To do this, you need to post a vacancy or internship offer on the unified vacancy portal of the State Employment Service, indicating:.

All vacancies will be verified, and companies will be able to get acquainted with candidates without risks and test a new hiring format. Director of the Institute of Demography and Quality of Life Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Ella Libanova notes that due to the aging population, Ukraine simply will not be able to cover the personnel shortage without the active involvement of the older generation. " The population is aging, and we must understand that the economy will need less and less physical strength and more and more intellectual labor,” explained Libanova.

According to her, employers will have to abandon old prejudices, because older workers are, first of all, stability, responsibility and experience, which are especially lacking now.

The State Employment Service confirms that there are more and more older people in the market. According to Deputy Director of the State Social Protection Service Valentina Rybalko, the share of candidates aged 50+ among registered job seekers has increased:.

“In conditions of personnel shortages, we cannot afford to lose human capital due to age stereotypes,” she emphasized. Despite the shortage of personnel, ageism in the labor market remains a serious problem. The study “Labor Market after 50 Years” showed:.

Many companies still apply hidden or even open age restrictions, despite the fact that this is contrary to the law..

For example, in vacancies for the service sector, employers often directly indicate the maximum age of candidates, and some managers do not hide their biased attitude towards people over 40 years old.

Recently, the topic of the possible attraction of labor migrants has caused active discussions and a wave of fakes on social networks. However, the government is not yet talking about massive imports of labor. But the main emphasis is on internal potential.