The event served as a platform for dialogue between government, business, educators and civil society organisations on overcoming the acute shortage of skilled workers and creating a new vocational training system for the country’s reconstruction. The forum was organised by the Kyiv School of Economics with the support of Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.
Petruk took part in the panel discussion titled “Shortage of personnel in technical fields: challenges for Ukraine’s economy”.
According to her, there are about 4,000 vacancies at Metinvest’s enterprises, and more than 8,000 employees are serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: that is, one in six employees. In total, more than 11,000 Group employees have served in the Armed Forces since 2014. A thousand veterans have returned to work at the enterprises.
“We are ready to hire all veterans. For us, the veteran programme is not just a project but part of our present, as important as any other business process. After all, we are facing a shortage not only in numbers but also in the quality of specialists,” noted Petruk.
Previously, Metinvest ran competitive selection rounds to fill vacancies, but the company is now hiring everyone it can find in the regions. The Group’s enterprises are located several dozen kilometres from the front line: in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Kamianske.
Vocational training and opportunities for young people
The Group has restructured its corporate training programmes and shortened their duration. “Previously, it took 6-9 months to qualify as a steelworker, but today we can allow at most three months before a trainee works independently,” added Petruk.
Metinvest Polytechnic is developing educational programmes that meet the current needs of the mining and metallurgical sector. This year, the university launched a new junior professional bachelor’s programme, which has already attracted over a hundred applicants. The university also organises internships for students at the Group’s production facilities in Ukraine and Europe.
“We guarantee employment at our enterprises for graduates of all educational institutions, not just Metinvest Polytechnic. We work with vocational colleges in the regions where we operate. We also engage with parents: after all, at 16, teenagers don’t always know which path to choose,” she said.
Partnership with the state
According to Metinvest Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer, large businesses today are forced to rely primarily on themselves. Production planning no longer depends on raw materials but on the availability of people.
“This is a very big problem. Ukraine’s reconstruction will begin with industry, and all industrial companies are experiencing a shortage of personnel,” emphasised Petruk.
The Group works with the Ministry for Veterans Affairs, which has created a platform to help former military personnel find employment, and is ready to use all available tools to attract new employees.
“We offer decent wages, above the average for both the region and Ukraine. We are ready to train people at our own expense. But business cannot take everything upon itself. The staffing problem can only be solved in partnership with the state, particularly on issues such as social housing for employees. That is why this partnership must be so productive that it becomes a win-win: for business, for employees and for the state,” she said.
Metinvest also works with the Ministry of Education and Science. Educational reforms do not always keep pace with the development and needs of business, so the state should more actively involve large and medium-sized enterprises to understand which specialists will be needed tomorrow and how to prepare them today, Petruk believes.
“We have planned our need for specialists for the next five years and placed a corporate order with Metinvest Polytechnic. We have analysed the programmes, identified priority areas and aligned them with the Group’s development plans. In this way, the university is training the specialists we will need in the future,” added Metinvest Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer.