Around one fifth of Ukrainians who have come to Lithuania as refugees and have registered with the Employment Service would like to remain and work in the country, while one third are undecided about their future.
According to a survey conducted by the Employment Service, 17 percent of Ukrainians currently living in the country plan to stay, while 31 percent are undecided about their future life plans.
The results are based on surveying 399 people, the Employment Service said on Wednesday.
“We started working with the Ukrainian target group three months ago. When serving clients of foreign nationalities, we need to get to know them better, find out their demographic characteristics, expectations, and future plans,” Vygintas Morkūnas, head of the Quality Management Department of the Employment Service, said in a statement.
According to the report, the majority of refugees registered with the Employment Service were women aged 30-49, 27.1 percent were aged 40-49, 17.3 percent were young people aged 16-29, and 16.8 percent were Ukrainians aged over 50.
More than one in two has a higher education qualification.
The majority of refugees, 38 percent, came from the central part of Ukraine, 26 percent from the east, 21 percent from the south and 15 percent from the north. The survey shows that more than a third of the female refugees had spouses who stayed in Ukraine, while the majority, 64 percent, came to Lithuania with minor children.
In the survey, 87 percent of the respondents said that Lithuanians welcomed them very well. When asked with whom they discuss their problems, the majority said family members, friends and acquaintances, while fewer turn to state institutions or NGOs for help.
Information and counselling services were provided to Ukrainian refugees registered with the Employment Service. Most of them wished to find a temporary job.
Among the respondents, 45 percent found employment. Most of them are satisfied with the working conditions and the atmosphere at work, while only one in two is satisfied with the pay.
A small number of Ukrainians were interested in vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities and some were employed with subsidies.
The survey was carried out in May.
Almost 55,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Lithuania since the start of the war in late February. Around 900 came last week. More than 21,000 of them are minors.
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