Artikeln publiceras på engelska, för att säkerställa maximal autenticitet.
Hi, my name is Anna Martynenko, I am a loving wife and mother of four beautiful kids, arrived to Sweden in March 2022 and I want to tell you my story.
Russian aggression in Ukraine over the past year has forced 14.5 million people to leave the country to save their lives, with 11.7 million currently found in the EU, including me and my family. This is the largest displacement since World War II. 45,000 of them (~6% children) have arrived in Sweden. According to the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, 79% of Ukrainian adults have higher education, and 26% of them have more than one degree. It means that around 33,000 adult educated and qualified specialists, including engineers, doctors, IT, builders, teachers, designers, cooks and others, have come to Sweden in the last year. 72% of them are currently learning the Swedish language. Almost all of them are or will be registered with the public employment service, which is advantageous for employers as this often make the candidates from Ukraine eligible for subsidized employment.
The number of open vacancies registered on the public employment service portal is high, and growing! Today it is 222 613 open vacancies. For entrepreneurs and managers in Sweden, it is now a unique historical opportunity to develop and expand the boundaries of their companies and fill these open positions thanks to the potential resource that experienced specialists from Ukraine can provide. Swedish labor market experience a great competence gap, and with around 33.000 educated and qualified job seekers from Ukraine currently on the market, Swedish companies have a unique opportunity to grasp in order to stand out in their respective competitative landscape. The ones who will act upon this, will be the winners!
Myself, I have a masters degree in International Economics and an associates degree as technologist chemist, but my first works here was not about it at all. After 6 month temporary working somewhere and somehow, I got my first full time work in Arlanda Airport. After 6 month more I finally was recommended to join a project run by the startup HelloLilly and funded by the European Social Fund, with the objective to professionally help creating relationships between employers and job seekers, including currently Ukrainians.
Now we are here to write the history of our countries. Large and small companies all over the world are finding new opportunities in global changes. Join us on this great mission for the future prosperity of next generations!