Developing creative economy among ways to boost labor productivity, economist says

That’s according to the president of the Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Mylovanov, who opened the second day of the All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. Labor Resources,” an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

There are two labor markets in Ukraine, Mylovanov elaborates, with one being the market of new jobs and new creative economy. It boasts of higher wages, while at the same time lacks employees. Another is the market for "old" jobs, with lower wages and plenty of employees involved.

“Unfortunately, medium-productivity jobs, on the borderline of these market segments, are disappearing due to modernization. People are being pushed from there either to the old or to the new market. In order for the majority of Ukrainians to embrace the new conditions and achieve new opportunities, professionalization is required, which is a challenge of national scale,” Mylovanov is convinced.

He dismissed as an “illusion” the statements by certain politicians that in the next five years the country will be able to invest 100 to 200 billion dollars to ensure the renewal of fixed assets at the level of Ukraine’s European neighbors, including Poland.

“Consequently, labor productivity will remain relatively low. Through capital, we won’t increase it quickly. That’s why it is necessary to go for creative jobs, allowing people to be engaged in creative industries,” the economist believes.

The same, he noted, applies to education. If it doesn’t change and fails to meet the challenges of today, training professionals with high productivity, if their training level doesn’t live up to the employers’ demands, we will still keep harming people and delaying development, Mylovanov stressed.

As reported earlier, in February, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine launched a series of 30 large-scale weekly forums in the format of a public dialogue on issues vital for the country. The events are timed to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.

The topic of the ongoing forum is the efficient use of labor resources, including ensuring that the Ukrainian labor migrants return home. For two days, participants will be discussing ways to achieve the goal, government programs to combat unemployment, and changes that the labor market has undergone since the onset of the pandemic.

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