Ukraine and the EBRD started a dialogue on the development and implementation of programs to support Ukrainian businesses to restore the energy sector and retrain workers for professions that are more in demand on the labor market. This was discussed during the meeting of First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyridenko with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, the ministry's press service reports.
According to Svyridenko, there are currently two critically important challenges for the Ukrainian economy: energy problems and a labor shortage. Regarding the first challenge, the government is developing a program of preferential lending for businesses and the public in order to increase their energy efficiency and meet their energy needs.
"We hope that the EBRD will support our initiatives and finance projects to restore the energy sector of Ukraine," the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
In addition, an important challenge for the economy is the mobilization of specialists to the ranks of the Armed Forces. "We need to pay more attention to retraining programs for Ukrainians in professions that have the greatest demand," Svyridenko noted. First of all, we are talking about women who are already mastering previously "male" professions, such as tractor drivers or truck drivers.
The minister also added that the retraining of specialists, together with the employment of veterans, is the main challenge for the government in the labor market. "The EBRD will consider the possibility of financially supporting the implementation of relevant retraining programs both on the part of the state and on the part of Ukrainian business," the minister emphasized.
