Ukrainian Ivanna found her place in Swedish healthcare

In February 2022, Ivanna Korobko came to Sweden from Ukraine. Thanks to the Care Connect With Ukraine project, she quickly found work at Sahlgrenska Hospital, something she is grateful for.

The spring of 2022 will always be remembered by 31-year-old Ivanna Korobko as turbulent. Her homeland Ukraine was invaded by Russia and she, her husband and two boys had to quickly flee the country. They came to Sweden in February, were allowed to live with a Swedish family and they immediately started learning Swedish.

It wasn’t that easy at first. Above all, it was difficult to communicate with people without knowing Swedish. We Ukrainians didn’t have that many opportunities either. We couldn’t study at SFI (Swedish for immigrants) but had to find various courses online, says Ivanna, who is a trained nurse in Ukraine.

Found her job through a job fair

After a few months, Ivanna got a job at a cleaning company and in the fall she went to a job fair, which was organized by the non-profit organization Hug, as part of the CareConnectWithUkraine project. It is a project that, with support from the European Social Fund, has helped Ukrainians find work in Sweden, including through training, job fairs and contacts.

I was very interested in continuing to work in healthcare, because I love working with people. At the fair, I got in touch with an HR representative from Sahlgrenska Hospital in Gothenburg, to whom I submitted my CV. After just a few weeks, I was invited to an interview at Sahlgrenska and then I got the job, says Ivanna.

Today, she has worked for a year as a nursing assistant at Sahlgrenska, with the same duties as a nurse. While she has been working, she has also received intensive training in Swedish at the workplace, which has yielded rapid results in language development.

It feels great! I enjoy my job, have wonderful colleagues and get to do what I find fun. When I started at the hospital, my Swedish wasn't that good, but it still went well because everyone wanted to help me. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work and contribute to the Swedish healthcare system, as there is a great shortage of nurses. My husband has also found a job and the boys are in school, so we are doing well, says Ivanna.

Language – the key to work

She is now about to take a license as a nurse in Sweden, which requires both theoretical and practical exams. Even though Ivanna knows all the theory and practice, a high level of language skills in Swedish is required. And that language is the most important thing to get a job, Ivanna emphasizes.

Language is the key to work! You have to dare to talk and make mistakes. I have told my colleagues that they are welcome to correct me, so that I can learn. You also have to dare to start working, even if it is with a simpler job like cleaning. Because that is where you also learn to communicate with people, says Ivanna.

She is grateful for the help she has received on the way to work, through the CareConnectWithUkraine project. As a new arrival in Sweden, it is not easy to know how to write a CV and contact employers, something she received support with.

Now I just hope that the war in Ukraine ends as soon as possible. While we are here, we have to fight and work on. I also hope to get my ID. That way I can also thank the country of Sweden and all the people for the help I have received, says Ivanna.

Most Ukrainians want to find jobs in Sweden

Mariya Melnyk is a project manager at the non-profit organization Hug and has run the project CareConnectWithUkraine. She herself comes from Ukraine and has lived in Gothenburg for almost 13 years. The initiative for the project started at a demonstration at the then Russian consulate, in connection with the invasion of Ukraine.

To deal with the frustration and sadness we felt, we wanted to do something concrete to help our compatriots. It started as a collection of humanitarian aid, but when the first Ukrainians arrived in Sweden, we realized that they quite quickly asked how they could start working. When the initial shock had subsided, they no longer wanted to just sit at home, says Mariya.

And these are the questions that Mariya recognized well after her first time in Sweden, even though she did not come as a refugee but as a student. Although about 70 percent of the Ukrainians who came to Sweden had a university education, not all of them were fluent in English and none of them spoke Swedish.

We knew that Ukrainians could not study at SFI, so we arranged our own courses. Knowing Swedish is important both for work and for feeling safe in society. We also wanted employers to meet these people, in order to be able to invest in them. Since most of them are well-educated, they are easy to learn and in the long term have great potential for an employer, says Mariya

(Ukrainian refugees were given the opportunity to take part in SFI education from 1 June 2023)

Successful working method – the majority have received extended contracts

The collaboration with Sahlgrenska also shows that the project's approach with an initial simple job, followed by a trial period with pay and intensive language training, has been very successful. Over 20 doctors, nurses and researchers have been employed at Sahlgrenska and 17 of them have received extended contracts. All have raised their levels of Swedish and all also plan to take tests to obtain Swedish medical or nursing licenses.

The most important message is the importance of activating people who come here to Sweden. They need to be given a chance to work and learn the language – and the sooner it happens, the better for both the person and society. And this applies regardless of how long you stay in Sweden, says Mariya.

Now the work with Care Connect With Ukraine continues in a new project, Empower UA. There they will focus on mental health, which is also very important for entering society.

Film from the Job Fair

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