- We directed our activities at the Ukrainian minority living in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Participants took part in vocational courses and computer training, which enabled them to acquire and expand their professional skills, the project coordinator reports. – Participants also had the opportunity to complete a work placement as part of an internship. We helped many people with their personal development and finding employment.
Work after the internship
One of the project participants is Hanna. She is 65 years old and came to Poland in December from Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine.
- In Ukraine, I worked in a grocery store for 25 years. I became interested in a course related to the catering industry. Later, I completed a three-month internship at a catering company as a kitchen assistant. After the internship, I received an employment contract. I found peace in Poland, and I am close to my daughter, who has lived here for five years, Mrs. Hanna says.
- We accepted Mrs. Hanna for an internship in May, after she completed a kitchen assistant course, says a representative of Stowarzyszenie Centrum Ekonomii Społecznej. – As our company provides catering and food-service services to external entities, after the internship, during which Mrs. Hanna demonstrated strong motivation to work and great responsibility for her assigned tasks, we hired her on a permanent contract.
In addition to the skills needed to work in the catering industry, participants could take courses preparing them for employment in other professions, such as childcare worker, beautician, marketing assistant, cleaner and office worker. Some people accepted into the project were eager to use various forms of support, but did not always complete their training because they returned to Ukraine. For others, it was an opportunity to put their lives back in order.
Benefits for entrepreneurs
Employers who cooperated on the project could also receive support. Service, catering, administrative and accounting companies, educational and care institutions, and employer non-governmental organizations were willing to organize internships for participants. Entrepreneurs who decided to employ workers from Ukraine for two years under an employment contract could apply for reimbursement for equipping or upgrading a workstation created for a participant.
The project “Your Chance for a Good Job: Employment Activation of Immigrants Aged 30 and Over Who Remain Unemployed,” conducted by Fundacja KOBE in partnership with Stowarzyszenie Centrum Wspierania Przedsiębiorczości and Gmina Głuszyca, will end in October. So far, more than 100 people from Wrocław, Świdnica and nearby towns have taken part.
Informational material from the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
