You're reading: One third of Ukrainians would travel abroad for permanent residence, poll says

Some 30% of Ukrainians would travel abroad for permanent residence, according to the opinion poll conducted by the sociological group “Rating.”

At the same time, 65% of respondents would not like to leave Ukraine forever.

The survey data indicate that the main reasons for leaving are: to find better living conditions (53%), the desire to ensure a better future for their children (41%), and lack of decent work in Ukraine (32%).

While 40% of Ukrainians would like to go abroad to work, one in five among them is ready to retrain and find work on a new specialty. Two thirds of Ukrainians expressed their willingness to return to Ukraine after a while, if they had a permanent work abroad, 15% of respondents are assured they would not return.

According to sociologists, there is a demand for people mostly of working professions, but a highly qualified workforce is also needed.

“Many people do not know the language that is so necessary for employment for the skilled positions,” said Vasyl Voskoboinyk, head of the NGO All-Ukrainian Association of Companies on International Employment.

He also said that the top three countries wishing to take Ukrainians to work are Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.

The poll was conducted by the sociological group “Rating,” commissioned by the all-Ukrainian Association of companies on international employment from 16 to 22 September 2016. Some 2,000 thousand respondents aged 18 years older were interviewed. The survey was conducted by personal interview (face-to-face). Representative error does not exceed 2.2%.