The issue of the defenders’ return to their previous job and its adaptation will arise before the employer in one way or another.
Uklon, Work.ua, Ukrzaliznytsia, Diya.Biznes and Lobby X: under one roof together with the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine discussed challenges related to employment of veterans.
Almost every Ukrainian employer – large, medium and small faced and will face not only the issue of employment of veterans in the future, but also the fact that many employees went to war and some of them will return to their workplace later. Some of the veterans, of course, will go into another field or open their own business. But the question of returning the defender to his previous job and his adaptation will arise before the employer one way or another.
That is why the third panel of the forum “Respect. Experience. Perspective” was devoted to the topic of employment, and the following took part in it: Oleksandra Adaynik – manager of the Department of Social Policy of JSC Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), Dmytro Dubrovskyi – co-founder of Uklon, ambassador of the UVF, Maksym Pylypenko – director of communications at Work.ua, Andriy Remizov, director of the State University “Office of development of entrepreneurship and export”, Tetyana Rozumiy, wife of a veteran, entrepreneur, Viktoriya Shinkarenko – veteran, NGO “Regional Veteran Union of ATO Participants of Rivne Oblast”.
The panel was moderated by Vladyslav Hryzev, CEO of Lobby X, coordinator of TEDxKyiv. He presented the interim results of the “Needs and obstacles for veterans in employment” survey. This study was conducted by the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation together with Lobby X and Work.ua.
Among the main numbers that employers and society should pay attention to:
33% of surveyed veterans plan to return to their workplace after demobilization.
62% of respondents believe that in order to encourage employers to employ veterans, the state should introduce tax discounts for such employers.
50% of veterans believe that they will lose their previous qualifications and will need training for further employment. The surveyed employers also agree with this.
Work.ua is one of the most popular job search sites. Maksym Pylypenko, director of communications at Work.ua, says that employers are already experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel.
“Veterans and women veterans, how they will run a business, will be a significant percentage of employers in Ukraine. Our company communicates about adaptation and employment of veterans. The plans include activities and cooperation with partners, such as the UVF, and the implementation of joint partnership projects,” said Maksym Pylypenko.
As part of the discussion, Oleksandra Adaynik, manager of the Social Policy Department of JSC Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), spoke about their company’s plans for veterans: “We will return our railway workers to civilian life in two ways. We will have those who will return and undergo their procedure. The second way: those who will be released from service due to a serious injury. We understand that they will not be able to return to their previous working positions.
The first option is that we consider these people to be returning to the railway. And that’s why we created the Advocacy Center. We are considering a related position for our employee, we are communicating with our colleagues. In particular, our personnel have received training on communication with veterans. In order not to be afraid of the banal, ask and talk to veterans.”
Effective tools are also prepared by a consious business – Uklon. The Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs is a partner of Uklon among veterans and their families.
Dmytro Dubrovskyi, co-founder of Uklon and ambassador of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, noted: “As a business, it is our duty to do everything to ensure that Ukrainian veterans are protected as much as possible and receive incredible support on the way to reintegration into the new Ukrainian society. I call on all Ukrainian businesses to support, help and fight — together with veterans and for veterans.
In particular, a taxi is one of the first places where a person can make extra money. While, for example, retraining of veterans or training continues. That is why we are considering preferential conditions for veterans, and we need to work here so that there are no abuses.”
Together with our partners Diya.Business and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, we have created a page where veterans, members of their families and families of the deceased can find important information about financial support for their business: https://business.diia.gov.ua/veteran- business
Andriy Remizov, director of the “Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development” State University, commented: “In Diia, we have created a new page Diia.Business. It has everything useful for veterans: business history, opportunities, training for veterans, and more. In fact, 150 business ideas are now available for veterans, there are examples of business plans, advice on what documents to collect in order to open a business. We also have free consultations – our specialists help solve the problem online for free. We also specialize in helping with exports, as this is a business scaling story.”
The wife of a veteran and entrepreneur Tetyana Rozumiy is one of those who received financial support from the UVF under the 20,000 program for her own business. While her husband is fighting, she develops a shoe business. And now she has started the scaling process. Tatyana says that the question of hiring veterans for work arose for her.
“With the opening of the first showroom, we will be looking for veteran consultants, because we are a socially responsible business. But am I aware, as an employer, of the potential need for workers with military experience? Yes, I can take the courses. But where to find information and how to train existing employees on how to communicate with a veteran or a veteran’s family member? How to resolve a conflict if it arises?” – asks Tatyana.
The participants of the event came to one important conclusion, that Ukrainian veterans and veterans, as they conduct business, will be a significant percentage of employers in Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation continues to support, help and fight — together with veterans and for veterans.
You can view the full recording of the conversation at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ufTfhpgiQ
The event was also attended by:
🔹 Yulia Laputina — Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine
🔹 Natalia Kalmykova — CEO of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs
🔹 Taras Chmut – director of the ’Come Back Alive’’ Charity Foundation, member of the Supervisory Board of the UVF
🔹 James E. Baker is a former infantry officer of the US Marine Corps, former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law at Syracuse University, professor at Syracuse College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
🔹 Ruslana Velychko-Trifonyuk – First deputy of the Executive director of the UVF
🔹 Olga Svatova is the head of the brand marketing department at American University Kyiv
🔹 Roksolyana Voronovska – head of UCU-online
🔹 Ilya Shpolyanskyi is a veteran, the Movement of Veterans of Ukraine
🔹 Tetyana Zhukova – VMGO “Social Vector” (Education for women: female veterans, wives of veterans)
🔹 Svyatoslav Nikolaychuk – NGO “Podilskyi Development Agency”
🔹Dmytro Dubrovskyi – co-founder of Uklon, ambassador of the UVF
🔹 Oleksandra Adaynik is the manager of the Social Policy Department of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia.
🔹Andrii Remizov – director of the State University “Office for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Export”, Diia.Business
🔹 Maksym Pylypenko is the communications director of Work.ua
🔹 Victoria Shinkarenko – veteran, NGO “Regional Veteran Union of ATO Participants of Rivne Oblast”
🔹 Tatyana Rozumiy is the wife of a veteran, the owner of a shoe store
The event was moderated by: Vladyslav Grezev, CEO Lobby X, coordinator of TEDxKyiv, Marichka Padalko, news anchor, and Oleksiy Tarasov, editor-in-chief of Radio NV.Photo: Hromadsʹkyy prostir
