Over the past two years, millions of Ukrainians have made the difficult choice to uproot their lives because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
You may have seen the horrific photos of moms carrying their children, pets and belongings as they waited in hope of crossing the border in February and March 2022. Many of these women were well-established in their communities and had their own entrepreneurial success. Many have master’s degrees and travelled the globe pursuing their career goals.
Thousands of them, including myself, arrived in Ottawa, looking for ways to build a new “normal life” and contribute their skill sets, education and professional backgrounds to the local economy.
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Zaahra Mehsen was three years into a biology degree at a local university when she realized she wanted to take a different path. “I realized that it’s not my thing,”
When I arrived, I realized the task of finding a job is easier said than done. I have a background in government communications and journalism. While this had earned me jobs in the Ukrainian ministry of health and the country’s largest national oil and gas company, it was a challenge to have my education and work experience perceived as something of value in Canada. I remember, early in my job search, someone recommended that I apply for an entry-level position at a call centre.
Through proactive networking and social media, I managed to tell my story to many people here in Ottawa. Every time I saw that they were impressed, my heart warmed because it was proof that my expertise had not been lost somewhere on the border.
Twenty months later, I serve as the head of growth and development at The Honest Talk, an Ottawa-based digital platform for women. The founders, Catherine Clark and Jennifer Stewart, invited me to lead the launch of their new business. I say this not to boast but, through my own story, to provide some idea of the potential and opportunities for growth that businesses can find in Ukrainian newcomers.
There are thousands of Ukrainian newcomers in Ottawa and 200,000 across Canada — thousands of well-educated, hard-working and intelligent people (28 per cent of Ukrainian newcomers hold a bachelor’s degree and 40 per cent a master’s).
As many readers know, a primary way to drive business growth and stay competitive is to recognize and capitalize on the opportunities that emerge. It is my hope that those in the Ottawa business community will see Ukrainian people as an asset — an opportunity to harness potential, enrich the entrepreneurial fabric, and drive successful outcomes locally.
There are many reasons why.
For one, Ukrainians are incredibly resilient people. Time and time again, we have had to fight to preserve our history, our language, our church and our culture, and we continue to do so. At the moment, we are resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion and genocide. One hundred years ago, we faced the Soviet occupation, which didn’t finish until the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. Yes, we got our independence earlier, but Russia corrupted our politicians and blocked our growth.
Some people would call our history a series of crises. It has been, and we are in crisis now, too. Despite it all, we have managed to become a strategic partner of the European Union, the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
We managed to launch outstanding products that are popular worldwide. In your daily life and work, you might know and even use products such as Grammarly, Petcube, Ahrefs, Serpstat, Ajax, CleanMyMax by MacPaw, and Headway. There are new businesses opening in Ukraine, even now. Ukrainian companies are launching new branches in Europe and North America. Some that are expanding rapidly include GxBar, Nova Poshta and Meest.
Second, Ukrainian newcomers have already launched new initiatives and founded businesses here in Ottawa — being proactive and entrepreneurial is part of our identity. There is a new Ukrainian beauty salon, a non-profit foundation created by a mom from Ukraine, and more coming. While we have lost a lot, there is something Russians can’t take from us: our high professional and quality standards, our creativity, and our approach to work.
If you have a business in the creative or tech industries, I recommend hiring Ukrainians. Among the newcomers from Ukraine there are marketing and communications professionals, designers, doctors, financial advisers, entrepreneurs, actors, teachers, therapists, beauty professionals, lawyers, NGO leaders, and experts in global affairs. My friends here have found jobs in Ottawa and have even been promoted.
Finally, we have high lifestyle standards. Many of my friends (and I, as well) back in Ukraine would have called ourselves middle class. We owned flats and cars, took vacations abroad, and our children attended great (often private) daycares and schools. We used to live well. This is our benchmark. And now we are working hard to get back to our normal.
I am aware that being a refugee from Europe is a kind of “privilege” because the world isn’t as equal and diverse as it wants to be. But I do believe that we can open some doors to other forced immigrants, too — by advocating for our rights and by fighting for equal pay and a transparent hiring process.
I have been in Ottawa for a year and a half, and it feels like every person I’ve met has a friend, partner, classmate, colleague or granny of Ukrainian origin. This warms my heart. But I would also be glad to see companies hiring Ukrainians without doubts, knowing we have the expertise they need and high work standards. No joke: that’s what my colleagues keep referring to — my quality standards. And my Ukrainian friends hear the same thing from their employers. Hiring us was a great business decision.
Most of us never dreamed of immigration. And, prior to the war, most of us had never been to Canada. Many are here to protect our kids. Still, we would be happy to make an impact with our hard work, creativity and strong values. Let us show you how. Something tells me you won’t regret it.
Galya Matkovska is a Ukrainian settled in Ottawa due to the Russia-Ukraine war. She is a marketing and communications professional, now serving as head of growth and development at The Honest Talk, a digital platform for women.
