Ukrainian refugees face employment challenges in starting new lives in Saskatchewan
Global News
Ukrainians arriving in Saskatchewan are facing challenges finding employment including getting credentials verified, expensive tests and language barriers.
As Russia continues to wage its war on Ukraine, more and more people escaping the violence are calling for help as they try to start a new life.
One such family landed in Regina on April 16 and they’ve been on the hunt to get a job.
Kateryna Klepikova, her mother, Oksana Klepikova, and her 12-year-old son left Odesa, Ukraine when Russian missiles started hitting civilian buildings in their city.
Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages including English, German, Ukrainian and Russian. Her mother has a PhD and worked as an associate professor at the economics department, Odessa National Polytechnic University for the last 20 years.
They’ve been proactively applying for teaching and management jobs across universities and schools in Regina but there are challenges along the way.
Kateryna has always wanted to teach English but to do that in Canada she needs a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate. Oksana was looking for a math professor job but is required to prove her qualifications by getting a Saskatchewan teaching certificate.
They are both forbidden to teach children because another medical test is required to be able to do that in addition to the regular medical tests that immigrants have to take to stay in Canada. The regular medical test costs about $300 each, so that’s $900 for this family and then they need to take the extra tests for teaching children.
“It’s basically quite expensive for us … Bear in mind that we are unemployed in Canada at the moment,” Kateryna said.
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