Again more Ukrainian refugees at work: 6 out of 10 have a job. ‘It was not bad that I did not really speak Dutch, English was enough’

Entering the Dutch labor market is relatively easy for Ukrainians, says Liliia Frantsishko (31), who works as an office manager at Tony’s Chocolonely. “I already knew the Netherlands a bit because I worked for Royal Wagenborg in Ukraine,” a maritime service provider. “When the war broke out, I came here with my children. I followed Dutch lessons at the UvA and was able to get started quickly. “

Almost six in ten Ukrainian refugees have a job in the Netherlands, reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Monday morning. There are more than 92,000 Ukrainian refugees between the ages of 15 and 65 in the Netherlands. In 2023, 55 percent of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands had a job, a year earlier it was 44 percent.

Ukrainian refugees who came to the Netherlands after the Russian invasion at the end of February 2022 do not need a work permit. They have a legal exceptional position towards other asylum migrants from outside the European Union. Asylum seekers are usually not allowed to work in the first half year that they are in the Netherlands.

Kateryna Klymenko (43) works at Rederij DFDS: “Because they work internationally it was not bad that I didn’t really speak Dutch, speaking English was enough. My daughter speaks Dutch well. ”

Kateryna Klymenko (43) works as a marketing manager at Rederij DFDS in Vlaardingen and lives with her daughter in Maassluis. “In March 2022 I immediately came to the Netherlands,” she says through the phone. “When I noticed that we would stay here for a long time I started following courses and within five months I had a good job at DFDS. Because they work internationally, it wasn’t bad that I didn’t really speak Dutch, speaking English was enough. My daughter speaks Dutch well, she is now in group 5 on a Montessori School. ”

Two small children

Liliia Frantsishko (31) first worked in the Netherlands at oil and gas company Perenco. “But I didn’t like it. The manager did not want to talk to me, it was far away and I could never work from home while I was sitting with two small children. ” She found work at Eclecticiq and she was doing well there until the company had financial problems and had to dismiss people. “That was really a shame. It was very nice to work there: a nice team, there were opportunities to grow and I had a better salary. ” She was able to go to Tony’s Chocolonely via Recruiter She Matters. “I have been working there as an office manager for a year now.”

Liliia Frantsishko (31) works at Tony’s Chocolonely: “My oldest daughter writes better Dutch than Ukrainian. I don’t think my children could still ground in Ukraine. ”

The integration on the labor market of Ukrainian refugees is better than that of asylum seekers, sees chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen of the CBS. The majority of Ukrainian refugees work through an employment agency or as an on -call worker and has a temporary contract. “Work is a very important means to settle down somewhere,” says Van Mulligen. “Because Ukrainians are allowed to work immediately, they learn the language faster and they really come to a company. Other asylum seekers often have to wait years. As a result of which their distance to the labor market only gets bigger. “

It is true that Ukrainian refugees, just like other migrants, often work under their level of education, sees Van Mulligen. They mainly work in business services or in the trade, transport and hospitality industry. Men and women from this group work the same amount. “The Dutch labor market is tight, especially when it comes to executive low -skilled work. It is a windfall for the employer who is eager to work for workers. “

We also see in other European countries that this group contributes substantially to the overcome of a gap on the labor market

Nostalgic thoughts

The legal exceptional position that Ukrainians have applies in all EU countries and has recently been extended by one year, until March 2026. The longer the conflict lasts, the more Ukrainians really settle in the country where they ended up, “says From Mulligen. “Also in other European countries, such as Poland, Germany and Italy, we see that this group contributes substantially to the overcome of a gap on the labor market.”

This also applies to Liliia Frantsishko and Kateryna Klymenko. Neither does not expect to go back to Ukraine. Frantsishko has since bought a house in Amsterdam and Klymenko rents an apartment in Maassluis. The question of whether she ever goes back is a very difficult, she explains: “I get very nostalgic when I think of Ukraine, but based on what I now see of the war, I don’t expect us to be able to go back soon. You don’t want your child to grow up in Ukraine now. Education in the Netherlands is good. For my daughter it is better if we stay here. I don’t want her to have to relive the trauma of leaving again. “

The children are also the reason for Frantsishko to stay in the Netherlands. “My children are now four and six. My oldest daughter is in group three, she writes better Dutch than Ukrainian, and knows not to be better than being here. I don’t think my children could still ground in Ukraine. The Netherlands is good for us. Education is better here, the environment is healthier. ”

As far as she is concerned, a lot has changed in the Netherlands since their arrival in 2022: “The first months we were here, we were very well helped. Now the Dutch are tired of war. They are still nice and I no longer need help. I now know how the system works and we save ourselves. ”

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