Ukraine’s shrinking workforce handicaps its economy,

said Gennadiy Bobov, the President of Panda, a farming group based in Kyiv region, writes in an essay summarized by UNIAN. “Agricultural companies are faced with huge problems in finding personnel,” he writes “Welders, turners, tractor drivers, truck drivers – there is a shortage of labor everywhere. Today we are constantly increasing wages for people, but that’s all. It’s also very difficult to find them. Moreover, middle-aged and elderly specialists work in these professions. This means that soon the shortage of people in working specialties will be catastrophic.” He blamed the opening of the EU labor market and the ‘destruction’ of vocational education in Ukraine.