Ukrainian newcomers to Portage la Prairie are in need of employment, and it's not easy with little to no English language ability in some cases. However, there are some employers that are helping out.
Kelsey Filion Drozduk is the owner-operator of McDonald's in Portage and Neepawa. She says she's putting the word out there to help newcomers get work and attended a meeting a few weeks ago where some prospective new Portagers met at city hall to check out the city.
"We got to talk about what different types of positions we offer," says Filion Drozduk. "We're looking for all individuals to work in the front and the back. In this situation, it might be a great opportunity for them to start in the kitchen, work with the team, and develop and cultivate their skills. They can work toward any position in the restaurant."
She says she's always looking for salary managers or restaurant managers.
"I'm looking to grow my business and market. So, as long as they're willing to learn, we have the resources for them," adds Drozduk. "There are lots of different professionals that work for me. I currently have a woman that's formerly an accountant and she's running my order-taking for ordering all the inventory for the stores. She's responsible for the inventory. So, I need professionals like that who understand inventory, that understand finance and understand people that could be HR, and that could be accounting. There are many different departments under the McDonald's umbrella that need professionals, so I'm always excited to find individuals that want to grow and I can help train professionally."
Sobeys owner-operator Steven Shmyr has already hired about six newcomers including both Syrian and Ukrainian refugees.
"We were given a phone call to see if there were any employment opportunities existing in this store," says Shmyr. "I actually was able to help out some Syrian refugees a few months back and it went very well through the store and through the individuals getting some work experience. When the call came for the Ukrainians, being that I am Ukrainian myself, it was close and dear to the heart. So, we also had the opportunity of a person that could translate. Knowing that three individuals would be coming with zero to limited English speaking abilities, it just fell in our laps."
Shmyr notes they could both employ and provide an interpreter with their young employees within the store. He says this brought about great results.
"I think the individuals are thriving as they are working very diligently with the team members," says Shmyr. "My business is doing quite well, they're doing quite well, and so it was a win-win."
He explains when people have gone through the suffering as the refugees have, with events in the world that require relocation to a place that they don't call home, it's a blessing to be able to give any kind of assistance, and it feels good.
"Knowing that it is my own national heritage that I could help out, too, for the community and as well for my business, it worked."
Shmyr says there's another newcomer in the wings at the moment, and as an employer, he's partnered up with Manitoba Start to help in that endeavour.
"So, I'm getting some resumes and some people coming from Winnipeg looking for employment, too," notes Shmyr. "Whether we're dealing with some people that have some pretty tragic things happen in their lives, if we can show any kind of support -- employment or financial -- we're there to assist."