TRANSCRIPT
"At 2pm this afternoon, the Russian government declared that they had commenced a so called "special military operation" in Ukraine and they said this after months of aggression and intimidation”
On February 24, 2022 Explosions ring out across Ukraine, from the capital Kyiv to the Black Sea port of Odesa and Kharkiv on the border with Russia.
Within hours, soldiers announce Russian ground forces backed by tanks and other heavy equipment have crossed into Ukraine from the north, south and east.
It begins… the worst conflict on the continent since World War II.
“ Quickly buy ticket and come to me quickly, we don't need to go to Ukraine, we need to go out of Ukraine, Russia or any countries of Soviet Union area. We don't want to live in, to live there in our countries, and we cant live there in our countries”
Vitaly Bazarov, his wife Anna and daughter Mariia are just some of the people displaced by the war, they first arrived in Melbourne shortly after the invasion.
Christine Castley from advocacy body Multicultural Australia says new arrivals like Vitaly are often underestimated by employers.
"One thing we have found with the Ukrainian cohort, ….they're all people who are actually quite significantly qualified. Many of them would have finished university degrees. And there's a significant piece here in terms of getting people skills and qualifications recognized and while they have also working to improve their English, make connections,gain self confidence, understand how to navigate the workplace, what we like to say is people need to understand the workplace is a particular unique culture within itself"
The waves of refugees and displaced families struck a chord with Svetlana Khaykina, who has a personal connection to the war-torn region.
" This war in Ukraine, is very close to home for me, I still feel very connected, every time I heard some city being bombed or you know... whatever it was... I have friends from each of those cities and each of those towns. Seeing my friends faces... being bombed at the time. So you know it definitely, was very personal for me"
Svetlana lived in the former USSR as a child, and recalls leaving with her family.
"I was born in Belarus, while it was still part of USSR, and my family immigrated in '93, so that was two years after the break up, ah we immigrated to the states and so I lived in the states for 15 years. And then so essentially I became a US citizen, and after that I decided, to go travelling, and at the end of my travels I didn't feel like coming back to the states so I looked at applying for jobs as well, so I applied for a job in Australia, got the job and moved to Australia."
When a unique proposition arose, Svetlana stepped up out of the city, into one of Australia’s most remote regions
"This opportunity came up actually through my employer, he suggested that there was this opportunity in Port Hedland, to see if that will work better for you, I looked at the opportunity, I had an interview, and decided yes that would be a good adventure for the family, you know while the kids are still young, to explore a bit of the Australian outback and work in the Pilbara"
Svetlana found herself in Port Hedland, a mining town of around 15 thousand residents on the edge of the Pilbara desert.
As an engineer, she has a range of vital skills which are in short supply.
She says many skilled immigrants and refugees have the same qualifications and experiences, but there’s a stumbling block... and that's writIng resumes.
“There is no practice of CV or resume back in Ukraine, Belarus, or countries after the USSR broke up. So even the concept of CV is very new to most people who arrive here. So really just how to put together a CV that describes what your skills are, or what you're good at, its also... its very culturally inappropriate to brag about yourself, so typically all people kind of diminish their achievements."
Svetlana volunteers her time writing resumes for new arrivals. Many of these people she’s never met in person.
While many have found work, others are struggling
"I do have to say that by my standards I wasn't as successful as I was hoping to be. I found that it was very, very difficult to place people, even in the regions where it is easier to get the jobs. There are special visas and special dispensations provided by the government for people who are willing to work in regional areas but even here I found it very very difficult to get that last step for these people to actually get the jobs"
Christine Castley says many workplaces are reluctant to hire people from different cultures. She believes there’s a lot more employers can do to be more inclusive.
" We've had a number of clients, who actually have changed their names, to kind of anglicise them a little bit more and in that way increased their chance of getting an interview, which is a pretty good indicator I think of the bias there in the first place. But even workplaces recognising, that once a person arrives, you do need to kind of do that kind of upfront support to help which will be quite different, from the workplace in their country. Rather than including them or expecting them to lift their game and kind of blend in with the Australian culture"
But for Vitaly at least, there’s good news: he’s found a job.
“I work as a boiler maker, but when I get any free time, we try to collect diving equipment, for diving, shooting objects under water. any don't move objects underwater. I was training these skills about, bigger than ten years. And I get the skills as I want to be useful to Australia because here, around Australia so many interesting ocean animals."
And he’s not the only one who has found work.
" I have one person in my team now, who came from Ukraine as part of this humanitarian visa intake, he has done incredible work back in Ukraine and Russia and really high level skills. he needs to get acquainted a little more with the Australian way of doing things... but the technical expertise and the skills are definitely there"
And you can listen to other episodes in the Change Agents series wherever you get your podcasts.
