MIGRATION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED WORKERS FROM UKRAINE: REASONS AND WAYS TO OVERCOME

Abstract

The migration of highly skilled workers is becoming an increasingly important factor that is influencing the development of specific countries as well as different regions of the world. In fact, in the European Union, the tendency of low-skilled workers shortage is changing to the trend of promoting the highly skilled workers migration, which can create added value and contribute to pension funds for the aging population in those states. At the same time, due to the loss of highly qualified personnel, the recipient countries are losing the pace of their economic development. The relevance of this study is also enhanced by changing conditions for international labor migration to the European Union in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, including for highly qualified Ukrainian professionals. The article examines the reasons of highly skilled workers migration processes, analyzes the consequences for different stakeholders and provides methods to reduce the scale of such migration. To analyze the reasons of highly qualified specialists labor migration, the model of "Push and Pull" factors was used on the example of Ukraine and the European Union. The positive and negative consequences of the highly qualified specialists’ migration growth for various stakeholders of this process have been identified. It is also proved that despite the fact that salaries are growing in real terms in Ukraine, the difference in salaries in the main areas of emigration to the EU is so large that it is likely to continue to motivate people to work and earn abroad. Moreover, the existence of a large and growing Ukrainian diaspora tends to encourage the migration of other family members and friends, providing informational and logistical support in destination countries. This attraction may increase in the coming years, and the diaspora will continue to expand. In the article, it is also described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the highly qualified professionals’ migration, and it gives a number of proposals or recommendations that could be implemented at the level of state migration policy to address highly qualified professionals labor migration or at least improve the current situation. The proposed recommendations of the migration policy to confront the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic include the establishment of a mechanism for coordination and consultation between all government institutions, authorities and agencies involved in labor migration, as well as the establishment of tripartite procedures for advising employers and workers of migration organizations and considering their opinions on the given topic.