Poland: one of the best destinations for Ukrainian IT companies after the Russian invasion.
Work despite everything: many Ukrainian IT specialists continue their activities by relying on Polish companies. The experience of an Italian recruiter living and working in Poland.
One of the worst pages of current European history began on 24 February: with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Exactly four days later, here in Poland, we started receiving numerous contact requests from IT companies active in Ukraine and interested in expanding their team of developers. We work in IT recruitment and selection, and we found that 90 percent of our requests for cooperation came from one country. A unique case in our experience.
The conflict has disrupted the lives of these people in a drastic way, and the area of work has certainly been no exception. โRemote workโ and โITโ are often found in the same sentence, and the possibility of continuing to work without being in a specific place is helping part of the Ukrainian population to remain productively active, and also to take their minds off (at least for a moment) the sad reality that surrounds them. An interpretation of the concept of resilience, applied to work.
Ukrainian programmers to Poland: work, despite everything
Losing part of their teamโs programmers, either because they were fighting to defend their country or for even worse reasons, prompted several IT companies to rethink their strategy. In terms of human resources, this has also resulted in seeking out neighbouring countries in terms of culture and IT skills, such as Poland.
Furthermore, according to UN data, Poland had already taken in 60 per cent of the total number of Ukrainian refugees, more than two and a half million people, by April. Initiating cooperation even in terms of partial relocation was an almost natural step.
According to a report by the Ukrainian IT Association, in 2021 the country estimated around 200,000 programmers out of a population of 45 million. Many of them worked at Ukrainian outsourcing companies, with even well-known international customers. Other programmers worked directly (with B2B or remote collaboration contracts) for foreign IT companies that chose Ukraine for the skill and availability of its specialists, at a competitive price compared to their domestic market.
What working in Ukraine looks like: overcrowded โofficesโ and bomb sirens
The need to understand other markets stems from the desire to survive and continue to grow. For us, it turned into several intro calls where we found ourselves presenting the Polish IT job market and trying to understand whether we could help to our interlocutors.
These were Heads of Talent Acquisition or HR Managers, 90% of them women managers who had had to flee to Romania, Poland or the Czech Republic, or who had remained in Ukraine, perhaps moving to the western part of the country, to cities considered โrelatively saferโ such as Lviv (a city only 80 km from the Polish border). Courageous women who tried to smile while explaining to us that they were forced to stay in eight in a shared three-room flat and that we would hear noises in the background because they were not alone in that temporary office. People who were working out of the office not by choice, but forced by a situation they could never have imagined.
During one of these calls, we happened to talk to a marketing manager when sirens had sounded and her HR colleagues had had to take refuge under bomb shelters. The new normal of a country that continues to work despite many difficulties.
Work as resistance and apps that warn of bombings
As hard as it is to imagine what it feels like in such a situation without living it, it is easy to feel immediate empathy for these โcolleagues from another companyโ living in a surreal situation. Expressing our solidarity and offering support, even without starting a collaboration, has always been part of our many conversations, and it has always been important for them to feel that the world is trying to understand them. It certainly makes them feel less alone.
From first interviews in some cases, we went on to start working together. Talking to each other almost every day, they explained some of the ways in which they try to maintain an apparent normality in a tragic context.
Just as we check the weather forecast on our smartphone app, they too have software that alerts them of bombings connected to messaging apps widely used in Ukraine, such as Viber and Telegram. In the same way, the same telephone operators, who here in Poland inform us when there is going to be a particularly violent thunderstorm, in Ukraine alert by text message when a bombing is in progress.
I have a lot of respect and feel deep empathy for all these people we have spoken to during this time. People who do not give up, who through their work convey the will to resist, to go on and perhaps soon return to the privilege of a โnormalโ existence.
As the Ukrainian poet Oleksandr Ivanytsโkyj says, in translation from Ukrainian: โHelp yourself, begin to
love life. Where there is peace, there is happiness. Never look for evilโ.
Praca mimo wszystko: wielu ukraiลskich informatykรณw kontynuuje swojฤ dziaลalnoลฤ opierajฤ c siฤ na polskich firmach. Doลwiadczenie wลoskiego rekrutera, ktรณry mieszka i pracuje w Polsce.
24 lutego rozpoczฤลa siฤ jedna z najbrutalniejszych kart obecnej historii Europy: poczฤ tek rosyjskiej inwazji na Ukrainฤ. Dokลadnie cztery dni pรณลบniej, tu w Polsce, zaczฤliลmy otrzymywaฤ liczne proลby o kontakt od firm IT dziaลajฤ cych na Ukrainie i zainteresowanych poszerzeniem swojego zespoลu programistรณw. Zajmujemy siฤ rekrutacjฤ kadr wyspecjalizowanych w branลผy IT co pomogลo nam okreลliฤ, ลผe 90 % prรณลb o wspรณลpracฤ pochodziลa z jednego kraju. Jest to jedyny taki przypadek, w przeciฤ gu naszej kariery.
Konflikt w drastyczny sposรณb zdewastowaล ลผycie tych ludzi i ลrodowisko pracy z pewnoลciฤ nie byลo wyjฤ tkiem. Okreลlenia takie jak: โPraca zdalnaโ i โITโczฤsto znajdujฤ siฤ w tym samym zdaniu, a moลผliwoลฤ kontynuowania pracy na odlegลoลฤ pomaga czฤลci ukraiลskiej spoลecznoลci pracowaฤ nadal na poziomie produktywnym, a takลผe pozwala zapomnieฤ (chociaลผby na chwilฤ) o smutnej rzeczywistoลฤ, ktรณra ich otacza. Interpretacja pojฤcia oporu w odniesieniu do pracy.
Ukraiลscy informatycy przyjeลผdลผajฤ do Polski: praca mimo wszystko
Utrata czฤลci programistรณw w swoim zespole, czy to z powodu walki o obronฤ swojego kraju, czy byฤ moลผe z jeszcze gorszych powodรณw, skลoniลa kilka firm IT do przemyลlenia swojej strategii. W sektorze HR przeลoลผyลo siฤ to rรณwnieลผ na poszukiwaniu pracy w krajach sฤ siednich opartych na wysokiej kulturze i umiejฤtnoลciach informatycznych, takich jak Polska.
Ponadto, zgodnie z danymi ONZ, do kwietnia Polska przyjฤลa aลผ 60% wszystkich ukraiลskich uchodลบcรณw, ponad dwa i pรณล miliona ludzi. Nawiฤ zanie wspรณลpracy rรณwnieลผ w zakresie czฤลciowego przeniesienia wลasnej dziaลalnoลci byลo niemal naturalnym krokiem.
Wedลug raportu IT Ukrainian Association w 2021 r. kraj szacowaล okoลo 200 000 programistรณw z populacji liczฤ cej 45 milionรณw ludzi. Wielu z nich pracuje dla ukraiลskich firm outsourcingowych, majฤ cych znanych miฤdzynarodowych klientรณw. Inni informatycy pracowali bezpoลrednio (choฤ z umowami B2B i zdalnie) dla zagranicznych firm IT, ktรณre wybraลy Ukrainฤ ze wzglฤdu na umiejฤtnoลci i dostฤpnoลฤ swoich specjalistรณw, po konkurencyjnej cenie w porรณwnaniu z ich rynkiem krajowym.
Jak wyglฤ da praca na Ukrainie: zatลoczone โbiuraโ i dลบwiฤki syren alarmowych
Potrzeba zrozumienia innych rynkรณw wynika z chฤci przetrwania i dalszego rozwoju. Dla nas przerodziลo siฤ to w kilka โintro callโ, w ktรณrych przedstawiliลmy polski rynek pracy IT i staraliลmy siฤ sprawdziฤ, jak moลผemy pomรณc naszym rozmรณwcom.
Byli to Head of Talent Acquisition lub HR Manager, 90% menedลผerek ktรณre musiaลy schroniฤ siฤ w Rumunii, Polsce czy w Czechach, lub, ktรณre pozostaลy na Ukrainie, w zachodnich czฤลciach kraju, w miastach uwaลผanych za โstosunkowo bezpieczniejszeโ, takich jak Lwรณw (miasto zaledwie 80 km od granica Polski). Dzielne kobiety, ktรณre podczas rozmowy staraลy siฤ uลmiechaฤ, gdy tลumaczyลy nam, ลผe zostaลy zmuszone do przebywania w รณsemce we wspรณlnym trzypokojowym mieszkaniu i ลผe w tle bฤdziemy sลyszeฤ haลasy, bo nie byลy same w tym tymczasowym biurze. Ludzi, ktรณrzy pracowali poza biurem nie z wyboru, ale zmuszeni przez sytuacjฤ, ktรณrej nigdy sobie nie wyobraลผali.
Podczas jednej z takich rozmรณw zdarzyลo nam siฤ rozmawiaฤ z menedลผerem ds. marketingu, gdy nagle rozlegลy siฤ syreny i nasi koledzy z HR musieli ukryฤ siฤ w schronach. Nowa rzeczywistoลฤ kraju, ktรณry nadal dziaลa pomimo licznych trudnoลci.
Praca jako przejaw sabotaลผu i aplikacje, ktรณre pokazujฤ miejsca bombardowaล
O ile trudno sobie wyobraziฤ, jak to jest w takiej sytuacji, nie ลผyjฤ c w niej, o tyle ลatwo poczuฤ natychmiastowฤ empatiฤ dla โkolegรณw z innej firmyโ ลผyjฤ cych w surrealistycznej sytuacji. Wyraลผanie naszej solidarnoลci i oferowanie wsparcia, nawet bez nawiฤ zywania wspรณลpracy, zawsze byลo czฤลciฤ naszych licznych rozmรณw, rรณwnieลผ waลผne byลo dla nich poczucie, ลผe prรณbujemy ich zrozumieฤ. To z pewnoลciฤ sprawia, ลผe czujฤ siฤ mniej samotni.
Od rozmรณw kwalifikacyjnych, w niektรณrych przypadkach, przeszliลmy do rozpoczฤcia wspรณlnej pracy. Rozmawiajฤ c z nami prawie codziennie, wyjaลniali, jak starajฤ siฤ zachowaฤ pozornฤ normalnoลฤ w tragicznym kontekลcie.
Tak jak my sprawdzamy prognozฤ pogody w aplikacji naszego smartfona, tak i oni majฤ oprogramowanie, ktรณre informuje o bombardowaniach podลฤ czonych do szeroko uลผywanych na Ukrainie aplikacji do przesyลania wiadomoลci, takich jak Viber czy Telegram. Podobnie ci sami operatorzy telefoniczni, ktรณrzy tu w Polsce informujฤ nas, kiedy bฤdzie szczegรณlnie gwaลtowna burza, na Ukrainie informujฤ SMS-em, gdy trwa bombardowanie.
Mam duลผy szacunek i gลฤbokฤ
empatiฤ do tych wszystkich ludzi, z ktรณrymi rozmawialiลmy w tym okresie.
Ludzie, ktรณrzy nie poddajฤ
siฤ, ktรณrzy poprzez swojฤ
pracฤ przekazujฤ
wolฤ oporu, by iลฤ dalej i byฤ moลผe wkrรณtce powrรณciฤ do przywilejรณw โnormalnejโ egzystencji.
Jak mรณwi ukraiลski poeta Oลeksandr Iwanickij, w tลumaczeniu z ukraiลskiego โPomรณลผ sobie, zacznij kochaฤ ลผycie. Gdzie jest spokรณj, tam jest szczฤลcie. Nigdy nie szukaj zลa โ.
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