JPMorgan Chase's Warsaw office is planning to extend a work and training program for Ukrainian refugees for another year after hiring around 50 this summer.
The Wall Street firm expects to recruit a similar number — depending on the war situation — into its 1,200-person Warsaw office, following positive feedback from employees, Paul Brazier, a managing director in the Warsaw office, said in an interview.
In the first recruitment, about 2,000 people from Ukraine applied and 52 were selected, mostly Ukrainian women. Since September, they've been given work and training in areas like finance, human resources, communications and operations. The bank provides kindergarten services as well as advanced English lessons to participants.
"Hopefully they will be able to take what they have learned back to the Ukrainian economy, once the training ends," Brazier said. The program was started at the request of employees.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Poland has absorbed a wave of around 2 million Ukrainian refugees, mainly women and children as most men of fighting age aren't allowed to leave the country. According to Polish government data, about 420,000 refugees have already found work although many have taken roles they are overqualified for.
With little sign of an end to the conflict and Russian attacks causing Ukrainian power and heating outages, few are likely to be able to return to their old lives or careers anytime soon.
Iryna Kurbatova, a lawyer who left Ukraine in March, now works for the bank's human resources team.
"As you realize that it may be hard to go back in the near future, you begin to accept that you need to learn some new skills," she said.
Maryna Vilk, who used to manage an art center in Kyiv, is posted with JPMorgan's office managers. "The program allows us to experience some sort of a normal life," she says.
—With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski.
