April 21, 2023 – There are currently around 20,000 Ukrainian refugees in Croatia, half of whom are children. Among the adult population, there are about five to six thousand who can be employed, which is good for Croatia, as it needs workers, both in sectors with low professional qualifications and in those with high ones.
This was presented yesterday at the conference on the project “Private Sector Initiative for the Integration of Refugees from Ukraine”, writes Index. It is a project initiated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in cooperation with the Solidarna Foundation and the Svoja Association, and it is fully financed by donations.
Over 200 Ukrainians have already been employed through the Svoja association in Croatia, the vast majority of whom are women, and many of them work in the companies Studenac, Mlinar and Pan Pek, which also joined the project.
Simple positions
“The idea behind the initiative is to ensure the empowerment of Ukrainian refugees and women, provide them with jobs based on their existing skills, improve those skills and advance the economic development of Croatia,” said EBRD Regional Director for Central Europe Victoria Zincuk.
Ukrainians currently occupy the more simple positions in the Croatian labour market because they do not speak the language. These are positions in the tourism sector, in sales or hospitality, explained Irina Pronenko, an employment expert from the Svoja association.
“The women who came to Croatia, about 86 percent of them, came with their children who attend schools and kindergartens. Croatian society has received them very well, both the women and their children. They have integrated into Croatian society and feel quite good about it compared to refugees in other countries, so Croatia is a good choice for Ukrainians,” Pronenko explained.
Starting their own businesses
She also said that many have started their own businesses. These are primarily people who had their own companies and trades in Ukraine and wanted to continue doing so. Plavi Ured helped them a lot in this, having provided consultations for more than 60 Ukrainians, among whom, she notes, there are IT experts.
“We employed more than 200 Ukrainians, mostly women. Many want to learn the language, get a job and plan their life in Croatia. Some people lost their houses and property there. Women who lost everything see an opportunity in staying,” Pronenko said.
Their biggest problem is the language, and the association Solidarna has organised more than 1,000 hours of Croatian language classes for them since the beginning of the war. Another big problem is dealing with Croatian institutions and their slowness.
The problem of nostrification of diplomas
“The nostrification of diplomas represents a big problem. The process is slow in Croatia, so at the moment, several dozen doctors are forced to work as waiters even though there is a shortage of doctors in Croatia. Currently, according to the accelerated procedure, the nostrification of diplomas takes about two years”, warned the director of the Solidarna Foundation, Ivan Blažević.
He notes that, despite the private and civil sector initiatives, the institutions do not follow integration into the labour market. “Doctors are required to speak Croatian at the B1 or B2 level, which is not a problem because a course can easily be organised for them. In these extremely specialised professions, such as dentists or doctors, you have to pass some kind of exam, so then the problem is not only the employment service but also the chamber that conducts the exam, so it’s really all a matter of how fast things can be done,” he says and adds that there are much better practices in the EU, especially in Germany and Poland, which received the largest number of refugees.
In Mlinar, 15 percent of the workers are foreigners
24 refugees from Ukraine currently work in Studenac, and the company plans to hire more. Michal Halwa, a member of the Finance Board of the company, says that currently, it is easy for them to hire Ukrainians because the procedure is more straightforward than with other foreigners.
“We appreciate their motivation and positive energy. Language is a barrier, especially in stores where they are in contact with people, but it is not such a big problem because Slavic languages are close. At the moment, we can offer them contracts for permanent and seasonal work, but in most cases, we accept them as permanent workers, Halwa says.
“We also offer refugees permanent work and treat them like other employees. I can say that this has a good effect on team dynamics and prepares us all for the fact that our workplaces and environments will look different, that not everyone will speak Croatian, and that, in some cases, will give the worker a glossary of 200 words. It will be enough for them to know how to say ‘burek’, ‘hello’, and ‘2 and a half euros’. Customers respond well to that; it’s not just the language that matters,” said the executive director of human resources in Mlinar Petra Glasnović.
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