The Kyiv Expo Center has become a platform for the Career Festival, which will last until Sunday, May 24, and will present the main transformations of the modern Ukrainian labor market. This year’s event has brought together leading public organizations, large businesses, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the humanitarian sector, educational institutions, and prosthetic centers on one platform. The organizers have adapted the space to the concept of an airport, where each stand has become a symbolic exit to a new profession, and visitors receive a special boarding pass for navigation. The site offers unique locations for quick interviews based on the principle of “speed dating”, panel discussions with the participation of top managers, as well as a specialized career guidance cafe, designed to help in choosing a profession or life path for both teenagers and adults.
Growth of scales and interactive concept of a passenger terminal
This festival is being held for the second time. This year, the number of participants in the career event has significantly increased compared to last year, demonstrating the society’s demand for professional realization and personnel exchange. The founder of the festival and the general director of VDNG, Yevhen Mushkin, noted:
“We decided to hold this festival to help people find their purpose in life.”
According to him, this year, 269 organizations have gathered on the site, including employers, schools, institutions of vocational and higher education from all over the country. During the four days, the organizers expect over a hundred thousand visitors, relying on the successful experience of the previous season, when about 12 thousand people actually found a job or a place to study.
More than two hundred and fifty diverse events are taking place on the territory, including panel discussions about the future of the labor market in the coming years and lectures on writing a resume, broken down into several halls. Guests can not only study the stands but also physically try out professions. Speaking about the advantages and logistics of the event, Yevhen Mushkin emphasized:
“What is the advantage of the festival? The fact that you can physically try out a profession. Take a tool in your hands, approach a machine, sit down at a cash register, try to scan goods, manage a dolly (a special cart).”
A new experiment has been organized group tours, which have been registered by over 70 school and civilian groups.
Also read:
New profession in six weeks and work with housing as a way of adaptation for VPO
Quick interviews based on the principle of career speed dating
Dynamic interaction between employers and job seekers is provided by a specialized zone of express interviews, which minimizes lengthy bureaucratic stages of selection. The administrator of this location, Anastasia Shuflyta, explained the specifics of the site’s work:
“The express interview zone is a location where seven different employers are presented every hour, representing various vacancies. A person has the opportunity to undergo a short express interview. This is 5-7 minutes, and already during this time, you can receive the first feedback on whether you are suitable or not.”
On the stands, there are companies from absolutely different spheres, from entertainment business to large retail. Visitors can get on a blitz interview thanks to previous organizational steps, which the administrator also mentioned:
“There is a preliminary registration, you can find it on the festival’s website. Also, if you come directly to the location, you can see a banner with everything printed on it.”
Lack of personnel in the defense sector and paradoxes of free education
A representative of KSE ProfTech, Kateryna Penko, stated that there is a personnel crisis, so their work is aimed at solving it. The educational institution conducts free courses for people in working professions. There is an opportunity to study as a welder, a CNC operator, or a radio electronics assembler (soldering electronic boards). She added that the conditions of the programs do not contain hidden pitfalls:
“After training, a person must work for the employer. But they do not pay for training. At work, the employee will receive a full salary. The duration of work for a specific employer is two months. This is what is needed. You have learned, worked, gained experience, and you can leave if you don’t like it.”
Over the past three years, the demand for CNC machine operators for the needs of mechanical engineering has increased by 319%. Kateryna Penko noted that the programs are designed to be accessible:
“The programs are really designed so that people without prior experience can do it very quickly and easily. There’s nothing super complicated there. We give the initial basics.”
Also, there is a sharp increase in demand for solderers and high-level assemblers for the production of unmanned technologies, while the welding sector shows traditionally stable high rates.
Also read:
"My boss asks why they are here": what Germans and Ukrainians say about Merz's demand to return men
Long-term investments of big business in dual education
Large systemic companies consider participation in the event as a tool for forming knowledge about their internal personnel opportunities. The head of the communications and marketing department of MHP, Hanna Teterenko, explained the logic of the corporate sector’s presence:
“We are introducing people to us as an employer, because for us, this is a good moment to get acquainted, to build knowledge about the company. Very often, people know our brands, but may not recognize us as an employer, so this is one of our goals for being present.”
The holding company offers vacancies at production facilities and in the head office, focusing on practice, internships, and the development of dual education programs for students. The experience of the previous year showed that job fairs have a prolonged deferred effect. Hanna Teterenko confirmed this fact with a real example from practice:
“We realized that the path of an employee is very interesting. Often, candidates do not come immediately after the fair, but come for interviews when almost a year has passed. Candidates come and say that they got to know us here, at the fair.”
The humanitarian sector as a space for building a large-scale career
A significant role in the structure of the modern labor market is played by non-governmental organizations, which offer professionals high professional standards and a social mission. The head of the communications and marketing department of the Ukrainian Red Cross, Lesya Oliynyk, noted:
“The Ukrainian Red Cross is participating in the Career Festival because today the humanitarian sector is not only about assistance but also about professional development, modern professions, and the opportunity to be part of important changes in the country.”
According to her, the public sector is now a full-fledged labor market, where people do not work for free:
“Yes, in the public sector, you can build a full-fledged career today. The Ukrainian Red Cross is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the country, where thousands of professionals work in various fields: from logistics, communications, and HR, psychology, finance, IT, and emergency response.”
The organization is actively involving personnel resources throughout the country. Lesya Oliynyk spoke about the list of relevant areas for job seekers:
“We are looking for both experienced specialists and young people who want to develop in the humanitarian sector. Among the areas, there are coordination of humanitarian programs, logistics, social support, communications, project management, psychosocial support, work with communities, and many others.”
You can get acquainted with the relevant positions on the organization’s website in the “Vacancies” section.
Socialization of veterans and charitable initiatives of veteran business
The program of the event integrates social projects that promote the accessibility of society and the reintegration of defenders. A representative of the TYTANOVI center, Iryna Chernyshova, says that they are not looking for employees, but came to the fair with a different purpose:
“So that people know who veterans really are. First, it’s popularization. Second, we teach adequate attitude towards veterans, towards people who use prosthetics.”
In addition to veteran initiatives, the organizers are pursuing the theme of “Online vs. Offline”. During professional events and lectures, you can figure out how to find a balance and get benefits from both formats.
Also read:
"Book Country" at VDNG gathered 72,500 guests and sold 90,000 books