The potential for a “win-win” situation was just too great to let pass.
When Chris Alleyne, associate vice-president, housing and ancillary services, and Jodi Freeman, senior advisor, stopped by the Western hospitality recruitment fair last summer, they were struck by the number of Ukrainian newcomers, eager and ready to work.
“We were recruiting a large number of employees due to the shortage created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they were in desperate need of jobs,” Freeman said.
But one important hurdle lay before them.
“They couldn’t speak English,” Freeman said. “But they wanted jobs, and they brought translators with them. We knew there had to be something we could do, so we put our heads together.”
With enthusiastic support from across campus including CUPE 2692, and in partnership with the Western English Language Centre (WELC), Alleyne and Freeman’s team developed what has become a successful work-learn pilot project.
“It has taken a village,” Alleyne said. “I’m incredibly struck at how collaborative the campus community has been. Everything from clothes donations to navigating the health care system, Western faculty and staff have continuously reached out to see how they can assist. This has been an extraordinary response to extraordinary circumstances.”
Work and learn
Last September, a cohort of 11 Ukrainian newcomers, who arrived in London under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program, were placed in part-time culinary support positions in Ontario and Saugeen-Maitland dining halls and at Great Hall catering. After working their morning shifts, they spent each afternoon at the WELC, learning and improving their English.
The new hires started in backline positions, washing dishes, cleaning and preparing food. They were provided with translation devices and pins reading ‘I speak Ukrainian’ to help them access support from colleagues when they encountered new or unfamiliar situations.
Lazo Meladze (Housing and Ancillary Services photo)
Since acquiring and improving their English, they have moved into frontline roles serving the students and campus community.
Lazo Meladze is from the city of Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine. He joined Western last September, drawn by the prospects of the work-learn program from Montreal, where he first landed in Canada.
“When I first arrived in London, it was difficult to speak English,” Meladze said, “Now, I rarely use a translator and understand most of what people say. Learning English has been an invaluable experience and the whole Western community has been incredibly supportive and friendly to us.”
Translating ‘everything,’ from wellness to WHMIS
Vital to the project and to the new employees’ success is Svitlana Stoiko-Hota.
Svitlana Stoiko-Hota (Hospitality and Ancillary Services photo)
She also joined Western as a Ukrainian newcomer, first as a desk clerk at Elgin Hall residence. But when Freeman learned Stoiko-Hota held a PhD in English as a Second Language (ESL) and previously worked as an interpreter/translator and English instructor, she recruited her to help facilitate the project.
Stoiko-Hota split her time between housing and ancillary services as special projects coordinator and the WELC, where she taught English to the new Ukrainian staff members.
Having Stoiko-Hota on board allowed Western to offer interviews and check references in Ukrainian.
But that was just the beginning.
In addition to touring the new hires around their units and working with their supervisors to interpret their culinary support training, Stoiko-Hota also translated all staff training modules, from workplace wellness to WHMIS.
She customized her ESL classes to meet the learning levels of all her students, who ranged in age from 20 to 64 years.
“This is a huge load for them, learning English for three hours a day, from Monday to Friday after working their shift,” she said. “Some of them are responsible for children and for parents and are the only breadwinners in their families. It is a lot,” she said.
Stoiko-Hota’s empathy stems from her own first-hand experience as a newcomer to Canada. She and her son left their home in central Ukraine, 300 kilometres from Kyiv, not long after Russia’s war on Ukraine began. Leaving her husband behind, they fled to Poland, where “a complete stranger took us into their home,” she said.
They arrived in London, Ont. in June 2022.
“I found myself on a totally alien planet when I came here,” she said. “And I knew the language. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be for people who can’t speak English.”
She applied for 50 jobs a week and heard nothing, becoming discouraged and disappointed. Then, “the stars aligned,” she said, when she got her job at Western and found herself working back in her field.
“I never dreamt there’d be a project for Ukrainians, where I could apply both my skills as an ESL teacher and a translator.”
She is now reunited with her husband, who arrived in London last month. But many friends and family, including her mother, remain in Ukraine.
Second intake
Building on the success of the pilot project, hospitality services is now planning a second intake of Ukrainian newcomers for the fall.
Watching the project grow “has been an amazing experience for all of us,” Alleyne said. “Our Ukrainian staff are positive team members who learn fast and work hard. They’ve become incredible contributors to Western’s community.”
Stoiko-Hota said she’s “so proud” of her students’ progress.
“When they started, they couldn’t even say their names in English,” she said. “By the end of the ESL program, they have covered most grammar topics, enriched their active vocabulary considerably and, most importantly, they have overcome the fear of speaking “imperfect” English and making mistakes.
“They inspire me. That’s what gets me excited about another intake — to be able to contribute to other people’s success after I was helped by so many people who were complete strangers to me. I feel honoured to pay it forward.”
