Saskatoon steel company provides soft landing for displaced Ukrainians

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Murray Pobran, the general manager at Varsteel in Saskatoon, knew he wanted to do something.

“I went to the president and CEO and explained how close to home this was hitting for me being of Ukrainian descent and with several of my friends, family and coworkers being Ukrainian. He asked if I thought there was any way we could help,” Pobran told CTV News.

From there the process started to get the word out that the company was hiring Ukrainians coming to Saskatoon.

With the help of social media, he says Yaroslav Kravchuk and Vova Rybachenko contacted Varsteel for a job.

Rybachenko is an English as a Second Language teacher in Ukraine and was impressed by the quick reply he received to his application.

“I was surprised by the response, it was very fast and positive,” Rybachenko says.

He is waiting for his family to join him in Canada so he can help them get settled in Saskatoon.

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Yaroslav Kravchuk, also a displaced Ukrainian hired at Varsteel, says the settlement process has gone well for him and his wife, mother-in-law and three young children despite still recovering from the trauma and shock of fleeing their home in Kyiv.

“When we left it was horrible. The first night was horrible, the second night, we were sleeping in the cellar of our apartment building,” Kravchuk told CTV News.

Varsteel helped Kravchuk with an apartment for his family, with the rental company offering free rent for two months. Gift cards have been provided by management and staff at Varsteel and assistance was given to help reimburse them for their flights to get to Canada.

Like many industries, theirs is finding a shortage of skilled reliable workers, according to Pobran, so hiring displaced Ukrainians is proving to be mutually beneficial.

The two newest employees say they’ve gained a sense of belonging.

“We are thankful to the company that adopted us and they’re brave enough to hire people from far away. I do feel like we are part of the company and part of the family,” Rybachenko said.

Varsteel operates in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba. The plan is to hire dozens more workers to fit the requirements in all locations, building on the success in Saskatoon.

The company says the men are being paid the same wage as other employees at Varsteel and are not replacing Canadian workers, and the company also continues to recruit local Canadian employees.