A Ukrainian family that now lives in Kitchener said it’s been challenging settling into their new home.
Silas Sulemn and his family fled the war-torn country and moved to Canada in May.
“It was really scary,” Sulemn said about living through war. “Every evening we used to go to the shelter just to protect ourselves in case of rockets or bombs coming in.”
They fled their home in Kyiv with just a few clothes and enough food for the journey.
The family came to Canada on an emergency visa, and was sponsored by Rudy Kruppa.
Kruppa lent the family one of his vacant homes, which is right next door to his house.
“My background was from Hungry, Budapest. So we decided that would be a good payback thing to have a family come and sponsor them as we were sponsored in those days,” Kruppa said.
“Everything has been amazing. We really like the place,” said Sulemn. “We hope our future will be brighter here.”
Despite the warm welcome, Sulemn said it’s been difficult to find work.
In Ukraine, he was a technical support worker, a job he hopes to have in Canada, but he said he hasn’t been able to get hired.
“I did some couple interviews, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “I see if you have no experience, no one is willing to accept you. So you'll probably have to do an internship before being able to see yourself in professional work.”
Jennifer Dean, an associate professor in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo, said this is common for newcomers due to the lack of recognition of foreign credentials.
“Canadian businesses prefer experiences in the workforce in Canada. And this, of course, is a challenge for newcomers to Canada who don’t have that,” Dean explained.
She said newcomers who are unemployed or underemployed, which is doing a job you’re overqualified for, can experience mental and physical impacts.
“[It can cause] a loss of status and identity for newcomers,” she said.
Another issue some face is de-skilling, a process which sees employees become less proficient over time as their skills go unused for extended periods of time.
“But also the reality of de-skilling,” she Dean. “Some of these professions take a really long time, many years of experience to build up your expertise to be really great at your job. But when you move, and you’re not able to continue practicing or using those skills."
She said there is also the knowledge that there is a process of de-skilling occuring.
Sulemn said he isn’t discouraged yet and is hopeful he’ll be able to find work so he can provide for his family in his new home.
