He fled the war in Ukraine for Canada. Nearly a year later, he can't find a job — and he's not alone

A Ukrainian man who fled the war with his family last spring says he has just weeks left before they'll run out of money to survive on Canadian soil.

Yuri Ivanenko, who speaks multiple languages and has decades of work experience, primarily as a sales or purchase manager, says he's applied to jobs at every level to no avail.

Living in a one-bedroom Toronto apartment with multiple generations of relatives, he estimates he has enough money left from a modest Ukrainian pension and selling his car back home to support his family for a couple more months. 

"I want to stay here longer, at least till the end of the war," said Ivanenko. "But if I cannot do it because of no job, no financing … I will have no other option but to fly back."

Not only has Ivanenko applied for jobs similar to his past roles, he's also applied for entry-level sales jobs that pay minimum wage. He knows he's overqualified for them, but says he'd be happy to accept them anyway. He also has profiles on multiple online job sites. 

But while he's had some interviews, he hasn't landed anything yet and says he hasn't received any feedback about what he's doing wrong. 

With the struggle to find a job increasingly difficult, the family is relying on a food bank.

"In all my life I've never been unemployed," he said. "This feeling of uncertainty, it's a very big concern."

Situation 'very common' for newcomers

One settlement specialist says Ivanenko is not alone in the often long journey for newcomers to find employment. 

"It's very common," said Svetlana Franz with Halton Multicultural Council Connections, an organization that offers support to Ukrainians and others trying to build a new life in Canada.

Organizations like HMC Connections help newcomers find employment by providing free resumé help, holding job fairs and getting on the phone with potential employers willing to hire Ukrainians or other immigrants, she says.

But newcomers and the organizations trying to help them don't usually get feedback from employers about why someone wasn't hired. 

"That's the biggest struggle that our clients are facing nowadays," she said.

"It might be that they need more help preparing for certain kinds of interviews, it might be their resumé wasn't tailored enough to the job or it might be another element a specialist can help with."

In the case of refugees coming from Ukraine, Franz says high stress levels can affect interview performance. She'd like to see more employers recognize that and not create an overly burdensome interview process.

A problem for retention

Debroy Chan is the interim CEO at Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, a group looking to help new immigrants more easily enter the labour market through a different avenue — working with employers to help to address systemic barriers.

He says the organization has been hearing of many Ukrainians finding employment, but "within low level jobs, nothing that matches their qualifications and experience."

That, he says, is a problem for retention. 

Beyond that, he says, newcomers can find themselves facing a dilemma. They can downplay their qualifications to avoid appearing overqualified and potentially secure a lower-level position. But long-term, they could be passed over for promotions or other opportunities because an employer can't see the full scope of their skills on paper. 

"If that doesn't happen, it's really a waste of time having an immigration system that brings a significant number of skilled immigrants who are not accepted within the labour market at those levels," he said.

As for Ivanenko, he's waiting on tenterhooks for a call from anyone willing to give him a shot. 

For now, he says, "I keep applying."