Who Will Deliver Recovery? A Lesson from Ukraine on Jobs, Skills, and the Missing Link

By Iryna Mykulych, Executive Committee Member, Head of International Cooperation and Partnerships, Agency for Recovery and Development

When we talk about Ukraine's recovery, the conversation almost always starts with numbers. The latest Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5) released by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, puts reconstruction and recovery needs at nearly $588 billion-a staggering figure that rightly commands global attention. Yet in my work with communities across Ukraine, I have come to see that there is a more difficult question, one asked far less often but may ultimately determine whether recovery succeeds or fails: who will actually deliver it?

Recovery is not built in spreadsheets.It is built in communities, by people who have the skills, the capacity, and the support to turn investment into real outcomes. Today, that is where the real constraint lies.

Across Ukraine, funding pipelines are taking shape and strategies are being developed. Yet on the ground, a different reality emerges. Local governments-the actors responsible for implementing recovery-often lack sufficient capacity in project management, procurement, and coordination. Businesses struggle to find qualified workers, even as many people remain unemployed or underemployed. This is not simply a labor shortage, but a structural mismatch between available skills and the demands of recovery.

Years of war have deepened this gap. Military mobilization, displacement, migration, and economic disruption have reshaped the workforce, leaving skilled professionals far from where they are needed most, while entire sectors are forced to adapt to new realities. The result is a paradox: there is both a shortage of skills and an untapped workforce at the same time. Until this gap is addressed, even well-financed recovery efforts will struggle to translate into results.

It is not enough to rebuild physical assets; we must also rebuild the human systems and capacity that make recovery possible. This means investing in people who can design and manage complex projects, strengthening institutions that can coordinate across sectors, and creating local ecosystems that connect education, business, and communities.

At the NGO Agency for Recovery and Development, this is not abstract. Working with municipalities, civil society organizations, businesses, and vocational education institutions, we see how quickly dynamics change when local actors are equipped with the right tools-not only training, but practical frameworks, mentoring, and opportunities for collaboration. Teams begin to move beyond ideas and develop concrete, fundable projects. Partnerships emerge where none existed before, and local stakeholders gain the confidence and capacity to engage with donors and implement initiatives.

What makes the difference is not training in isolation, but training that is directly linked to real demand-to actual recovery projects, local economic priorities, and investment pipelines.

One overlooked dimension is coordination. Governments, businesses, educational institutions, and international partners all play essential roles, yet often operate in parallel rather than in alignment. By bridging these gaps, civil society helps align training systems with real economic needs, supports local governments in navigating complex recovery processes, and brings together stakeholders who would not otherwise collaborate. In practice, this positions civil society not simply as a participant, but as part of the delivery infrastructure itself-an insight that has important implications for how recovery strategies are designed globally.

A people-centered recovery also requires expanding how we define the workforce. In Ukraine, this means recognizing the role of veterans returning from the frontlines, who need clear pathways into meaningful employment. It also means addressing barriers faced by women, many of whom have taken on increased caregiving responsibilities and require access to flexible opportunities to remain active in the labor market. Ukrainians abroad represent a strategic resource, bringing skills, experience, and networks that can contribute significantly to recovery.

These are not peripheral considerations; they are central to whether recovery will succeed. Without integrating these groups into the workforce, the country risks slowing reconstruction and missing an opportunity to build a more inclusive and resilient economy.

At the Civil Society Policy Forum during the World Bank Group Spring Meetings, we are bringing this perspective into global discussion through the panel "Who Will Deliver Recovery?". The conversation aims to highlight that jobs, skills, and workforce capacity are not secondary considerations, but core elements of recovery and productivity. Platforms such as the Civil Society Policy Forum, together with the engagement of partners like the World Bank's Kyiv Office, create an important space where field experience can inform global policy, helping ensure that recovery strategies are grounded in the realities of implementation.

Ultimately, Ukraine's recovery is not only about rebuilding what has been destroyed. It is about strengthening the systems that allow societies to move forward, including the human capital and institutional capacity needed to sustain development over time.

If there is one lesson that emerges clearly, it is that recovery is not constrained only by the availability of funding, but by the availability of people who can turn that funding into results. Investing in skills, in institutions, and in local capacity is therefore not a secondary priority-it is a prerequisite for success.

Because in the end, recovery is not delivered by funding alone. It is delivered by people.