A recruitment director who has helped more than a hundred Ukrainians find jobs in Quebec regrets that several companies are depriving themselves of their skills by stopping at the language barrier.
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“In the context of a labor shortage, it would be in their favor to have a little more openness,” said Marie-Ève Jalbert, of the Randstad human resources firm.
Powerless in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she offered her employer last July to devote herself solely to finding jobs for refugees. The project was accepted.
She and her colleague Oleksandra Zhovtiuk have since managed to place 111 new arrivals from Ukraine and have even found accommodation for around half of them.
They now work in cheese production, bottling, trailer manufacturing, set assembly and many other fields, especially in Greater Montreal.
But Marie-Ève Jalbert has interviewed regarding 200 more Ukrainians in the past six months, without managing to find anyone interested in their CV.
Fearful employers
“The fear of employers is very much the language barrier,” she notes.
The director is quick to reassure her clients: a translator from Ukrainian to French, hired by the firm, facilitates their integration into the workplace, and translation applications exist.
Several employers also fear security breaches if Ukrainians do not understand all the precautions to be taken.
Again, Marie-Ève Jalbert explains to them that the interpreter translates the documentation necessary for their training and the specific instructions.
“We can always manage with our two Ukrainian workers, even if they don’t yet speak French or English well,” confirms Mélissa Lebel Pupo, of Ventilation Lambro, for whom health and safety are a priority.
Peace of mind
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
Yurii Khudenko, originally from Zaporijjia, is awaiting the imminent arrival in Quebec of his wife and son, while Denys Obrazkov, from Cherkasi, has arrived alone.
“And they have immense mental strength. Despite the war, they don’t sit at home twiddle their thumbs,” adds the director of human resources, who ensures that her employees have at least three hours of francization per week.
For Denys Obrazkov, who worked as a warehouse clerk in Cherkasy, central Ukraine, the job Randstad found him was a godsend.
“I was very afraid of not finding anything. Now I have more peace of mind thinking regarding the next day, ”he testifies, via an interpreter.
For her part, Marie-Ève Jalbert hopes to find other employers willing to give newcomers, especially women, a chance.
“That’s my big challenge. Right now, I have a lot of positions that require lifting over 40 pounds, and not everyone can do that. »
