Mentorship program for Ukrainians

Mentorship program for Ukrainians abroad from SAP and CSR Ukraine : how Ukrainian men and women received offers from international companies

Because of the russian aggression against Ukraine, more than 11 million citizens were forced to quit Ukraine, and more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees have registered for the temporary protection or similar national protection programs in Europe. There are pressing and vital issues related to employment, restoration of social contacts and networking, that have appeared. And also challenges, caused by social integration into the life of the host country through some cultural and other specifics. This is what led to the necessity and relevance of Mentorship program for Uktrainians abroadwhich was founded by CSR Development Center and initiative “Divchata STEM” supported by SAP.

“We have invited mentors from different parts of the world to join on a volunteer basis and help Ukrainian women and men adapt to new realities. 90 mentors agreed to provide their mentor support to Ukrainians, 70 of them are from SAP. Most of the mentors were registered from Germany, Hungary, France, Poland, as well as mentors from Spain, the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA, Denmark, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Latvia. Almost the whole world is ready to help Ukrainians abroad”, – Maryna Saprykina, Chairman of Board of the CSR Development Center, initiator of the project “Mentorship program for Ukrainians abroad”.

“We have already had a successful and long-term experience of cooperation between SAP and the CSR Development Center, namely, we jointly implemented the mentorship program for girls from successful women in technology fields of “Divchata STEM” in Ukraine. But, despite this, the idea to expand the program for all Ukrainians who were forced to go abroad became some kind of challenge, there was almost no time to think. Therefore, I am eternally grateful to my colleagues from SAP, who immediately responded and very quickly helped implement the project on such a scale.”, – Olena Lopushenko, Head of SAP Ukraine Solutions analysis and development department.

Each mentor-mentee pair had at least three meetings during June-August. Mentors told Ukrainians about employment opportunities abroad, about available vacancies and education opportunities, provided assistance in organizing networking and integration into professional communities, business associations, as well as practical advice on social, domestic and cultural integration.

“The program is efficiently prepared, the organizers provided regular support and informed the mentors. The combination of mentor/mentee pairs is also well thought out. My mentee was able to prepare the documents and apply for the required vacancies after better understanding the German labour market. Now she has received offers for new jobs here in Germany and has signed a contract for her new job”, – commented by Natalie Gahre, Product Manager, SAP S/4HANA Sustainability SAP, Germany

In total, the program united 90 pairs of mentors and mentees in different countries. The largest number was in the following countries : Germany – 46 pairs, Poland – 11 pairs, Hungary – 9 pairs, France – 7 pairs.

I received an offer from Amazon only because I had the opportunity to communicate with a mentor. And, of course, due to the fact that there was such a mentorship program. So for me, the importance of this program is not questioned at all.”

I came to the program with the request of job search in Germany. As a result, of the three companies that invited me to the interview, all three gave me offers. I chose the most profitable one for myself and started working 2 months after our sessions with the mentor.

The program is important, because women with children who went abroad because of the war stay mostly without help and feel abandoned to the mercy of fate. When you have answers to your questions, it gives you the opportunity to see perspectives, draw a plan of action and act.

Program website: https://mentorplace.in.ua/en/

Program Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/mentorship-for-ukrainians

Information about companies:

CSR Ukraine, CSR Development Center – an expert organization in Ukraine that unites more than 40 large companies, together with which it has been promoting the principles of sustainable business and social responsibility, implementing its own social projects, providing consultations, conducting seminars and trainings on CSR issues and reports for both private companies and public authorities for ten years. It is a national partner of CSR Europe (Brussels, Belgium) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Geneva, Switzerland). Learn more : www.csr-ukraine.org

Divchata STEM – a unique community of girls and women who are interested in STEM and study and work in STEM areas. Learn more : https://divchata-stem.org

SAP – one of the world leaders in the enterprise application market, which helps organizations of all sizes and specializations manage their business more efficiently. Whether it’s support services or a board of directors, a warehouse or a store, desktop or mobile applications, SAP solutions allow you to increase the efficiency of interaction between individual employees and organizations as a whole, form a deep understanding of the business and create a competitive advantage. SAP solutions and services are used by more than 400,000 customers (including SuccessFactors systems), the company’s advanced technologies guarantee high profitability, contribute to continuous adaptation and sustainable development.

SAP entered the Ukrainian market in 1995. In Ukraine, its clients include more than 250 state organizations, as well as enterprises in the oil and gas, energy, and metallurgical sectors. SAP actively participates in the development of national IT personnel in Ukraine, cooperating with leading universities in the country within the framework of the Global Program “University Alliance”.

More detailed information is available on the website : http://www.sap.ua

More feedback about the M4U 1.0.

Feedback from mentee’s:

*** Feedback from mentors:

This initiative provides a big value to the support of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs who wants to expand to the global markets or found an international start-up. Since Ukraine is a EU candidate now it is even more important than ever to participate in this initiative. I was glad to be connected with these talents and continue to work with them afterwards as well. This is a very advisable initiative for SAP employees with entrepreneur mindset. My mentees got improved on the knowledge to their specifics: The first mentee wanted to validate the presentation and align on best practices to find a sponsor. The customer presentations were suited due to the cloud specific to the audience incrementally . We defined on steps in a rough plan for the go to market as well. The second mentee was interested into business consulting area. The main focus during the sync meetings was to work out a plan on the expanse of the mentee’s business from SME (Small/Medium Enterprise) to LE (large enterprise). The move resulted in the adjustment to the consulting content and knowledge transfer to the large enterprise specifics.

This program demonstrates how SAP strongly cares about helping people. As a mentor, I am very well guided and informed. Also, the exchange with other mentors is perfectly enabled. As to the women I support as a mentor, I am very impressed by these strong and energetic women who stay positive despite the very difficult situation and work towards a future in their home country.

The preparation for the mentors and the pairing of the mentor/mentee pairs was organized well and especially the support during the mentoring by the Program Team was great, regular check-in and support. My mentee managed to prepare application documents and apply for some jobs after understanding the German job market and application processes better. She now got offers for new jobs here in Germany and will sign the contract for her new job this week.

The program makes it easy for me to actively engage and contribute. I can make a difference - even if it is a small one. It helps me to see the actual struggles of refugees and not what we are told by the media. I also learn a lot from my mentee through our exchanges.

I think the program has had a positive impact on both the mentors and the mentee. We had 2 meetings with my mentee. She is a very intelligent, positive woman. She has extensive professional experience. I helped her build a professional resume and looking for opportunities of continuing a career in Poland. We will definitely be in touch.