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Since February 2022, more than 6 million Ukrainians have been recorded as refugees. They mostly fled to Poland, Germany, and other European Union countries, where they will likely remain for a few years or more. Many are highly skilled workers, and one-third of Ukrainian refugees in the EU are children.
Drawing lessons from recent RAND research on the refugee crisis in Syria, our experts say European host countries should “work to truly support and integrate” Ukrainian refugees—most of all by educating and employing them.
Helping young refugees could start with developing school-enrollment initiatives, pathways to high-school graduation, and opportunities for further education. At the same time, host countries can improve labor market access for adult refugees through investment in language training, job matching, and other programs.
Helping Ukrainian refugees in such ways will help them enrich their host communities. They may also eventually return home as entrepreneurs who can invest, transfer knowledge, and create jobs. Thus, “Ukraine’s refugee diaspora could turn into a motor of the country's postwar reconstruction.”
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