Berlin, Apr. 26, (dpa/GNA) – German Development Minister Svenja Schulze has announced plans to support the reconstruction of Ukraine with an international skilled labour initiative.

There is a shortage of doctors, psychologists, roofers and architects, the Social Democrat (SPD) politician said in Berlin on Friday. “The reconstruction of Ukraine is already beginning.”

People are particularly needed in the health sector as well as in reconstruction and home building. In the energy sector, 8,000 skilled workers have already been trained since the start of the war.

“These are professional profiles that are urgently needed for reconstruction,” Schulze stressed.

The aim of the “SkillsAlliance for Ukraine” is to train young people, women and the internally displaced within the country in particular in the areas of reconstruction. However, refugees from Ukraine are also to benefit from the “training offensive” by being trained abroad, Schulze said.

In addition, the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference is scheduled to take place in Berlin on June 11 and 12.

“Any help for Ukrainian specialists in Ukraine is very welcome,” said Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev. The reconstruction of the country cannot wait until the war is over, he added. “This will be a task for decades,” he said.

The European Commission has estimated the cost of rebuilding the country at over €150 billion ($161 billion).

Makeiev went on to say that the Ukrainian government was already supporting the reconstruction of destroyed homes with millions of euros.

“The Russians’ goal is clearly to destroy Ukraine and create conditions so that people can no longer live there,” he said, adding that it is not just about weapons, financing or generators, but about people who “immediately rebuild what has been destroyed by Russia.”

GNA