Since June 2022 Youth Business Poland together with Standard Chartered and Youth Business International have been carrying out a project BEST BY FUTUREMAKERS. We pursue a mission of supporting 10.000 Ukrainian citizens who were forced to flee their country. Project includes mentoring, consultations, webinars as well as building a knowledge base for Ukrainians about how to settle on their career path in Poland.
We, as Youth Business Poland, are happy that as many as 34 employees of Standard Chartered decided to volunteer during the project called BEST by Futuremakers. They have been engaged in mentoring Ukrainians on their way to the Polish job market as well as starting or moving their businesses to Poland. The goal is immense – supporting over 10 000 refugees. With regard to that, we organized an onboarding event in November 2022 to support mentors in their mission. It was a great opportunity to connect, exchange experiences and approaches to mentoring.
These mentors are day by day making a change in the lives of many Ukrainians, who are looking for work or would like to open various types of businesses in Poland. Mentors meet ideas such as kindergartens, confectionery, language schools, acting workshops for kids and many more in the numerous industries such as beauty, mental health, education, e-commerce, handmade.
Get to know the insight of 2 mentees
We would like to share with you the insight of 2 mentees who received mentoring from Standard Chartered volunteers.
One of them was Olga Laptina who has vast experience in HR management in Ukrainian and international companies. Olga’s mentor was Alina Tarsa-Wagner who is a Product Design and Deployment Manager in Standard Chartered.
That is how Olga describes her experience in the project.
“Participation in the BEST by Futuremakers project enabled me to form my strategy for professional self-realization in Poland. I am very grateful for the opportunity of SOS mentoring with Alina Tarsa-Wagner. Alina carefully reviewed and gave me recommendations for my CV and Linkedin profile, recommended useful links. I received answers not only to general questions about the labor market in Poland, but we also discussed existing opportunities in my professional field.Communication with Alina was very supportive and inspired me to take further steps.”
We are pleased to hear that mentees gain a lot of inspiration and insight from their mentors and thanks to that they can have a smoother transition into the Polish job market.
Dominik Zmudzinski was a mentor who adviced Neil Predmestnikov on the Polish job market. Neil fled Ukraine in October 2022. His life turned upside down and he had to find himself in a new reality. He quickly started his Master degree in International Relations at the University of Warsaw and by the time of meeting a mentor he was looking for work opportunities.
That is how Neil described his experience with his mentor.
“Dominik was the first person who opened my eyes to the job market in Poland. Gave me a basic understanding of salaries, conditions and employment opportunities in Warsaw. He also analyzed my resume and gave useful advice. Moreover, Dominic shared the contacts of various companies and told me in which direction to move.”
Consultations in Ukrainian House
Another volunteer, Daniel Wolniewicz-Slomka, decided to give consultations in the Ukrainian House (Dom Ukraiński) about registering and opening a business in Poland. He experienced moving to Poland himself 12 years ago, so he knows inside out the immigration process, Polish job market and in general settling down in Poland. Therefore he can strongly empathize with Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Moreover, he has over 10 years experience in communication, marketing, social media, which he gained mainly in governmental and non-govermental organizations. Participants appreciated his hands-on experience, warmth and particular advice not only about the job market but also about settling down in Poland.
Those are just a few examples of making a change, every day, in the lives of Ukrainian people settling down in Poland. We have already supported 5343 people! During business consultation, SoS mentoring and business mixers our guidance received 1886 persons and 3457 during our webinars and lives. We are blessed to help so many ambitious people who suddenly had to change their lives because of the war.