Every third person from Ukraine wants to leave Poland due to lack of career advancement opportunities, according to a study by the Progres Group. Although many of our eastern neighbours actually work in Poland below their qualifications – often physically, an increasingly large number of people are also being employed in higher positions. There’s no shortage of recruitment offers of this type. Analysis from the Progres Group shows that among companies that are looking for candidates and indicate that the advertisement is aimed at people from Ukraine, as much as 56% are offering them intellectual work, most often in a specialist position, while manual labor is offered by 44% of entrepreneurs.
- 29% of Ukrainians want to leave Poland because they work here below their qualifications and have no chance of promotion, the Progres Group study has shown.
- Germany, Spain and the United States are the most common destinations, which, according to them, will provide more development opportunities and a high position.
- Employers, who are increasingly offering positions at higher levels and intellectual work, can dissuade some from making the final decision to leave Poland.
- Companies are looking for interns and junior specialists, who are targeted by 21% of the analyzed advertisements, while 61% are specialist and senior specialist positions, and 18% are top positions such as manager, director.
- The industries that are looking for people from Ukraine for intellectual work include office administration, HR, consulting, trade, production, TSL, finance and economics, HoReCa, marketing, and IT.
- According to data from the MRPiPS, among foreigners who received a work permit in Poland in 2023 (320,630) and most of them were Ukrainians, there was no shortage of permits for intellectual work positions.
A few years ago, Ukrainians who came to Poland for employment purposes were mainly accepted for manual labor. For many of them, this meant working below their qualifications. Many are still in this situation, but 29% no longer want to tolerate it and declare that they want to leave Poland, according to the Progres Group survey. Men are much more likely to take this step, comprising 70% of the respondents admitting that they would move to another country or return to Ukraine due to the lack of career advancement opportunities. Considering the age of those considering moving and advancing, those under the age of 45 are most likely to make this decision. In the entire group preparing to leave Poland, they make up 81% – including 25% who are between 18 and 26 years old, 23% are in the 27-35 age range, and 33% are between 36 and 45 years old.
“The majority of the respondents who are considering leaving Poland due to the lack of professional development prospects and the inconvenience of working below their qualifications are younger people. Only 17% are over 46 years old. Those emigrating further for a better life most often know English – 67% of respondents claim so. Some – 46% have children and think about returning to a higher position, also because of the family that they need to support. The other 54% have not yet had descendants, but they have ambitions and rightly expect that after temporary employment and manual labor, they will get a chance for a higher position, in line with their profession”, says Natalia Myskova, Director of International Recruitment in the Progres Group. She adds that most common destinations indicated that, according to them, will provide them with more development opportunities and a high position are Germany, Spain and the United States. It may seem worrying that as many as 41% of those considering leaving Poland want to do so within 1-2 months, and 44 % give themselves a year to move.
Employers, who are increasingly offering positions at higher levels and intellectual work, may dissuade some from making the final decision to leave Poland. According to the analysis of the Progres Group, which scrutinized nearly 8,000 job offers dedicated to Ukrainians, 44% pertains to manual labor, and as much as 56% to intellectual work. Of these, 21% of the ads are aimed at interns and junior specialists, 61% are specialist and senior specialist positions, and 18% are top positions such as manager, director. Industries seeking people from Ukraine for intellectual work include office administration, HR, consulting, trade, manufacturing, TSL, finance and economics, HoReCa, marketing, and IT. The highest positions are offered by IT, TSL, banking, finance and economics, and trade.
Moreover, according to data from the MRPiPS, among foreigners who received a work permit in Poland in 2023 (320,630), the majority of whom are Ukrainians, almost 10% of people (30,659 permits) were for office positions. They were positions such as office or customer service employees, specialists for financial-statistical and material accounting tasks, or secretaries. 9039 permits (3%) were issued for specialists in economics and management, information and communication technologies, health, teaching and upbringing, physical, mathematical and technical sciences, and specialists in the field of law, social and cultural fields.
Poland, despite its dynamic development, is still not fully open to qualified specialists coming to the country and who are not always fluent in Polish, but are proficient in English. Although we can already see positive changes in this area. Entrepreneurs who are suffering from staff shortages and looking for specialists for the team, should take care of qualified people who come from abroad. Such candidates are already here, but unfortunately still work below their qualifications, even though they could fill vacancies, which are still not occupied.” Natalia Myskova emphasizes. “Ukrainians, despite initially working in a profession not in their field, are striving to occupy positions appropriate to their education and experience. Enabling them to return to the level of career they had before coming to Poland could bring benefits for both domestic companies and the economy itself. However, it is important to create conditions conducive to their adaptation and development” concludes Natalia Myskova.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/ukraincy-w-polsce-awansuja-na-wyzsze-stanowiska-a-ci-nadal-pracujacy-ponizej-kwalifikacji-mysla-o-wyjezdzie-26187
