60% of enterprises cannot find persons with disabilities having a qualification necessary to be hired. This conclusion is provided in a study conducted on the basis of findings of an employer survey concerning the challenges faced by business in job placement of persons with disabilities, which was presented on 30 April 2025.

The survey was held by the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine as part of the project "Establishing a consultative system for the integration of persons with disabilities into the workplace". This project is implemented with the support of the International Labour Organization’s initiative funded by the Government of Belgium, titled "ILO Support to Ukraine: prevention of labour exploitation and human trafficking, support to entrepreneurship development and social partners" as well as the ILO RBSA project "Promoting inclusive and sustainable reconstruction in Ukraine"

“The key problem in job placement of persons with disabilities is their physical absence in the region where enterprises operate – both absence of people with necessary skills and information about them. Employers have no possibility to contact such people, directly or via intermediaries, to invite them to work or at least inform them of such opportunities”, said Rodion Kolyshko, Advisor at the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine.

92% of enterprises receive no support in search for employees either from the state or from non-governmental organizations. Therefore, 48% of the respondents looked for employees with disabilities via their acquaintances.

90% of enterprises understand the importance of workplace accommodation to meet the needs of a concrete employee with disability. “Business understands that if a person feels not comfortable at a workplace subject to their specifics and disability, the work brings no satisfaction and is no so effective as it could be. 73% of enterprises pointed out that they had adapted their workspace from their own funds whereas 20% made use of state support for workplace arrangement. This indicates insufficient effectiveness of these mechanisms”, Rodion Kolyshko noted.

“An information abyss between employers and persons with disabilities is a threat to Ukraine’s future reconstruction. The labour market feels a serious shortage of skilled professionals, and this gap could be eliminated if persons with disabilities became active labour market participants. There are almost 3 million people with disabilities in Ukraine, and only 18% of them have a job. It’s one of the lowest figures in Europe. We are examining experience of dozens of countries to find ways to restore the labour market”, said Oleksii Miroshnychenko, President of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine.

Entrepreneurs need to be helped in the formulation of a policy on adaptation of employees with disabilities in work teams, and the International Labour Organization supports this work. “We support companies together not only in hiring but also in successful integration of the workers having disabilities. It’s a complicated process, and there is much work to do”, said Julia Drumea, Senior Specialist for activities of employers’ organizations at the International Labour Organization Office for Central and Eastern Europe.

Understanding how to help persons with disabilities fully unlock their professional potential is extremely important, especially when reconstruction of Ukraine will begin. “We face very difficult challenges. Veterans, many of which come back from the front with disabilities, will need special attitude for their integration into the society. Recovery of the country provides a rare opportunity of building the country not simply to make it as it was but to make it as it must be in the future”, said Tetiana Minenko, National Manager of the ILO project “ILO support to Ukraine – Prevention of labour exploitation and human trafficking, support to entrepreneurship development and social partners”.

To increase employment of persons with disabilities, the state must understand where they physically are. “We must not forget about the role of government institutions engaged in job placement of persons with disabilities, particularly the State Employment Service of Ukraine that has a trained personnel. Only working with employers to hire persons with disabilities is not enough. First of all, we must find out where those people are. Then we need to understand the barriers encountered by them. And do our best to help them overcome these barriers”, emphasized Džemal Hodžić, Chief Technical Advisor at the ILO Office in Kyiv.

Stefan Tromel, Senior Disability Specialist at the International Labour Organization, pointed out that the State Employment Service could do more for entry of persons with disabilities into the labour market. “Besides, it is very important to engage organizations working with persons with disabilities and, in particular, activate persons with disabilities themselves so that they at least be registered as unemployed”, he said.

“Legislative provisions with requirements to employers are not enough. It is important to take account of employers’ interests and the challenges faced by business during job placement of a person with disability. We are just at the start of our joint journey”, said Volodymyr Vasylenko, Deputy Minister of Social Policy.