There is work to be done: 5 women prepare to work as tractor drivers for Poltava farmers
25 February 15:58
The first employers have applied to the State Employment Service as part of a pilot government project to train women in professions traditionally dominated by men. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The first requests were made by four employers from Poltava region with applications to train five women in the profession of “Tractor driver of agricultural production.” These are the Volodar-S, Mukhin Agro, Dibrova, and Kaplintsivske farms.
The Employment Service has already selected candidates for training at the request of Poltava farmers. Among them are women with higher education, a person with a group 3 disability, and one woman with a complete secondary education who currently works as a storekeeper and wants to change her profession.
The training will take place at the Interregional Center for Professional Retraining of Discharged Servicemen in Khorol, Poltava Oblast.
According to the terms of the government’s pilot project, the state will pay for the training from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, while employers will provide a place for internships and must employ women after graduation.
The cost of training under the pilot program cannot exceed 10 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons (currently UAH 30,280). If the cost of training is higher, the difference can be paid by the employer or project participant. The training period can be up to 10 months.
The government launched a project to train women in traditionally male-dominated professions at public expense in November 2024. Ukrainian women will be able to master more than 30 professions and find employment in areas where they were less represented.
Women are increasingly choosing “traditionally male” professions
Over the past year, about 300 women were employed as machine operators, 128 as crane operators, and almost 200 women received vouchers for training as tractor drivers. These statistics were provided by Yulia Zhovtyak, director of the State Employment Service, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
It is noted that the choice in favor of such vacancies is also due to the fact that they are the most popular and quite well-paid. Businesses are acutely aware of the shortage of personnel and are ready to invest in training the necessary specialists.
In addition, last year women received about 52% of grants. According to Yulia Zhovtyak, this shows that women are increasingly adapting to new challenges, especially in an environment where many men are involved in defending the country.
Are Ukrainian men and women ready to change their profession?
A study conducted by Gradus Research in cooperation with Deloitte Ukraine gives an affirmative answer to this question. According to the survey, conducted last September, 88% of Ukrainians are ready to change their profession, with 45% of women considering working in areas previously statistically dominated by men.
Interestingly, young people and residents of the western and northern regions and Kyiv are more likely to make such changes.
