JELD-WEN of Canada Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees
The war in Ukraine has displaced people all over the world. Winnipeg, Manitoba has been a city that has always had a very strong Ukrainian population and community, making this a destination of many that have had to flee their homeland. As a result of this, there are many programs in place through not only the city of Winnipeg but the entire Province of Manitoba.
Manitoba Start is an agency based out of Winnipeg, that assists newcomers to the province in finding jobs and getting them accustomed to living here. Many support opportunities are available through this organization, and they do very good work in assisting people from all over the world that has chosen Winnipeg as their home.
Holly Singh and Jessica Tran attending the Manitoba Start Career Fair on behalf of JELD-WEN of Canada
Last month, members from the JELD-WEN of Canada’s Human Resources team at the Winnipeg plant attended a career fair hosted by Manitoba Start that was put on specifically for the Ukrainian Congress of Manitoba. The purpose of the career fair was to assist Ukrainian Refugees that had recently landed in the city of Winnipeg and connect them with potential employers.
The event was very busy with well over 100 job seekers attending, and just over 20 employers to choose from. The fair proved to be a success for JELD-WEN as the team was able to secure over 70 resumes. “The career fair, was a humbling experience that puts life in perspective,” said Holly Singh, HR Coordinator, and Jessica Tran, HR Assistant from JELD-WEN of Canada.
Out of these interviews, there were three successful candidates: Anna Yurchuk, Myroslava Toporivska, and Oleksandr Helfand.
The HR Team wanted to do more than just hire three staff, as we had said, “we had a need and so do they.” After hearing the stories of the people they had met, the HR Team wanted to assist more people. They didn’t accept a language barrier getting in the way of offering meaningful employment to those that needed work.
The team consulted with their manager – Rich Pluchinski, with the idea to have Anna communicate with job seekers and work with the Group Managers to train the new hires. This idea was immediately supported by Nelson Ferreira – Production Manager of the Plant. This was very near and dear to Nelson as his parents were immigrants to Winnipeg when they came here, did not speak English, but were able to find jobs and put down their roots. Anna was fully supportive of the idea wanting to assist in any way she could.
As a result of this, five more job seekers were brought on board allowing Anna to meet with them, train and get them comfortable in their roles. Olha Pushkarova, Natalia Lavrenko, Yulia Antonovych, Olha Riabenko and Valerii Fedetov joined the team shortly after. In total, the Plant was able to bring on 8 new hires.
At the orientation, a Ukrainian flag was hung to show support of the new team members, and a plant tour followed with presentations by Plant Managers, Nelson Ferreira and Manny Mandilaras. During this time, the team had the ability to learn about the new employees and get an appreciation for what they have given up to be a part of our community.
The eight new team members are happy to be here and excited for their opportunity to work at JELD-WEN. They are fitting in with their co-workers, all while being productive and making friends along the way. This opportunity has been very rewarding to not only the HR Team but the facility as a whole. After learning everyone’s story, it was both heartbreaking and warming to hear what they had to go through to make it to Winnipeg. The JELD-WEN family is very fortunate to have discovered amazing people that are looking to put down their roots in Winnipeg and bring a dedicated work ethic with friendly personalities to work every day. The smiles on the new employees’ and their co-worker’s faces show that going the extra mile to ensure that needs were met is paying off.
Visit: Career Opportunities
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