Language barriers make for concern among Ukrainian newcomers at job fair

Hundreds of people, including many Ukrainian newcomers, arrived eager to find work at a job fair held at Prairieland Park on Wednesday.

A woman named Iryna said she and her son, Yurii, were there to look for jobs as newcomers.

“I’m not sure about (finding a job),” Iryna said, “because you need experience here and study … English.”

Iryna spent 25 years working as a crane operator in Ukraine. She said she will need to learn more English, likely, to get that sort of position again.

It’s concerning for her but her son weighs more heavily on her mind.

“I’m worried about my son. He has experience (in a) very good job,” she said.

In Ukraine, Yurii worked at a nuclear power plant as an engineer and has 16 years of experience.

The pair are hoping to better their English skills and eventually get work within their original fields. That seemed to be the case with many newcomers at the fair. Many who have just recently arrived from Ukraine explained in short words that they do not speak much — if any — English.

For Alina Kobzyeva, the job fair was a chance to help others who are experiencing a new world like she did six years ago when she first came to Canada from Ukraine.

“At that time, I didn’t speak English at all,” she said. “I hardly understand.”

That made it very difficult for Kobzyeva to adjust when she arrived.

“Not a little bit, it’s very hard,” she said of finding a job and transitioning into life in Saskatchewan.

She shared that she tried very hard to find a job but nobody wanted an employee who didn’t speak English.

“I was trying my best,” she said.

The cold was also a surprise to Kobzyeva when she first arrived. Used to a mild three-month-long winter, Kobzyeva said there was an adjustment when she experienced her first snowfall here.

“I came to Canada and the snow started (in the) middle of September,” she remarked.

Kobzyeva was at the fair representing Christian Horizon, an organization that assists people living with disabilities.

Being on the other side of a job fair was a “really great experience,” Kobzyeva said. She really enjoys finding new people to join their company.

“I’m really excited to try and help them,” she said of finding displaced Ukrainians get settled into new work in Canada.

“I understand them (and) what they’re feeling because I (also went) through (that). We need to try our best for them.”

Kobzyeva said the people she spoke with at the fair didn’t share much about their circumstances leaving Ukraine, instead focused on finding a job to start working in Saskatchewan.

Around 3,000 people from Ukraine have arrived in Saskatchewan since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started in February. The provincial government has offered them assistance since their arrival.