Artem Kravchenko: First Profession at 38
“Due to certain circumstances, I was unable to obtain a profession after finishing school. Now it feels like I am repaying a debt to myself by studying. I will have a profession, and that is the best motivation to dream about the future,”
says Artem Kravchenko, a participant in the Skills for Inclusion project from Kharkiv
Artem has had a visual impairment since childhood, but he has always strived to remain independent. After finishing school, he went straight to work and gained extensive experience in retail and services, working as a sales assistant and warehouse worker.
Everything changed with the start of the full-scale war. Shortly before the invasion, his father, who also had a disability, suffered a stroke. Artem therefore decided to leave Kharkiv together with him.
They moved to Poland. In order to support themselves, Artem found a job as a production line operator at a factory producing automotive parts. It was there that he first began working with metal. The experience interested him so much that after returning to Ukraine he decided to pursue a profession in the industrial sector.
“By autumn 2023, my father and I returned home. He missed Ukraine and our hometown very much. It was difficult for him to adapt abroad, and I decided that we had to be at home. Six months after we returned, my father passed away. I realised that I needed to move forward and continue living. I decided to get an education. I had always dreamed of having a profession, and now I was ready to make it happen,” says Artem.
When he saw a social media announcement about enrolment in training for the turner profession at the Kharkiv Centre for Vocational Education of the State Employment Service, he applied immediately.
Participants from Artem’s group during practical training
Today, Artem is completing his practical training at a local enterprise and spends many hours working at the lathe.
“I really enjoy turning because I can immediately see what I create. My effort turns into something real. Moreover, I see this process as a form of meditation. I want to prove myself as a good specialist and receive a job offer,” Artem notes.
He is convinced that it is never too late to study if a person has a goal and the desire to change their lives.
Background
The training was conducted within the project “Skills for inclusion: workplace-based training for activating vulnerable groups”, implemented by the NGO “Ukrainian professional development” with financial support from the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia and Denmark within the Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).
The project aims to expand opportunities for people with disabilities and those leaving military service, supporting their activation and reintegration into the labour market through reskilling programmes in economic sectors relevant to recovery and aligned with the qualifications of the target groups.