Kyiv-Mohyla Academy students hold Ukraine's first careers fair (03/24/96)

Kyiv-Mohyla Academy students hold Ukraine's first careers fair

by Marta Dyczok

KYIV - Students of the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy are once again setting new trends in Ukraine. On February 21 they held the first-ever University Career Fair in Ukraine.

Twenty-five leading Western and Ukrainian companies and organizations set up information booths in the main building of the university advertising job opportunities for the coming year. Resumes in hand, students went from booth to booth looking at the options open to them.

Amid the buzz of excitement, Kateryna Smahliy, one of the students organizing the event, checked that everything was running smoothly. Last spring Ms. Smahliy had spent a few months as an intern at the University of Alberta Career and Placement Center. Upon returning she decided to organize a Career Fair at her home university.

"When in Canada I realized that students can have a large impact on their university, and I want my university to be world class as well," she said. "I'm really pleased to see how successfully this Career Fair has turned out and that there are students lining up to speak to representatives of each company," Ms. Smahliy added.

Among the participants were Arthur Andersen, Ernst and Young, Coca Cola, Digital Computers, the European Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ukrainian telecommunications company UTEL.

Serhiy Yevtushenko, another student organizer, said, "I am sure that 100 companies and organizations would have liked to participate, but then the event would have to be held in a sports arena. Since we could only accommodate limited numbers, we chose the most prominent and prestigious companies to participate this year."

Students taking responsibility for their own future is a very hopeful sign for Ukraine. In the past, university students were placed in jobs by the government upon graduation. The University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy is the first university in Ukraine to completely break with this pattern. Like in Western countries, it offers students an education, charges tuition fees and does not expect its graduates to pay a debt to the state through controlled employment.

To help students find jobs after graduation, the university last year set up the first University Job and Career Center in Ukraine. This center, with assistance from the International Renaissance Foundation, organized the Career Fair. The center has two full-time employees, and the rest of the staff are students of the university, like Ms. Smahliy, who work part-time.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Ukrainian employers were in the minority at the Career Fair. The organizers admitted that it was difficult to explain the concept to Ukrainian companies and organizations, which are not used to open recruitment and hiring policies.

The students, on the other hand, are learning and using job search skills. Because of their attitude and abilities, UKMA students are much in demand by Western companies working in Ukraine.

Andriy Hraban, a second-year student who attended the Career Fair, commented, "I came here to look at possibilities for getting a job in the future. I talked to six or seven companies and they were interested in my CV, but they are looking for people to start full-time right away. For me studying is more important right now."

| Home Page |