Lack of public service professionals on the Ukraine labor market has pushed the government to look abroad for qualified applicants who can take positions.
Prague-based Pedersen & Partners and Korn Ferry, global head hunting firms, have found 185 potential employees, many of whom are members of Ukrainian community in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
After the job interviews, 24 candidates were recognized as fully qualified to serve in Ukraine’s public offices. However, their names haven’t been disclosed so far.
Four of them are expected to be employed with the Agrarian Ministry and another four with the Finance Ministry.
The Renaissance Foundation, a global network of policy consulting centers launched by American billionaire George Soros, has sponsored the headhunting process. It paid as much as $82,200 to two companies involved in finding the capable employees for the government agencies.
As of now, Ukrainian legislation doesn’t allow the foreigners to hold any public offices, which is why those who’ll accept the government’s job offers will have to take Ukraine’s citizenship. Meanwhile, dual citizenship is not allowed.
President Petro Poroshenko during his Nov. 27 speech in parliament offered to allow the foreigners be officially employed in the country’s government. Moreover, he asked the lawmakers to provide him with legal tools to grant Ukrainian citizenship through special decrees.
Central Bank Governor Valeriya Gontareva also thinks this should be changed. “Unfortunately, current Ukrainian legislation does not allow me to hire foreign citizens and to get the best experts on the NBU staff,” she said.
“Ukraine is facing very special challenges – complicated situation in the economy, aggression from the side of the Russian Federation, necessity of pivotal reforms and efforts focused on fighting the corruption,” commented Dmytro Shymkiv, deputy head of presidential staff. “Ukraine needs Western practicians of public administration, fight against the corruption, financial planning, anti-crisis management.”
Meanwhile, Natalie Jaresko, U.S. citizen of Ukrainian descent and chief executive officer of Horizon Capital, a private equity fund with $650 million in assets, is considered to be a candidate for the position of finance minister, according to the Kyiv Post research.
Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently a political science lecturer at Tufts University in the U.S., may become Ukraine’s deputy prime minister.
Kyiv Post associate business editor Ivan Verstyuk can be reached at [email protected].
