WorkSource helps many people find work every year. These people come from a plethora of backgrounds and circumstances with their own individual needs. Our Employment Specialists work with each of these job seekers to help them achieve their goals. It’s what we do—and we’re proud to do it.
Andrii is our most recent success story, an immigrant from Ukraine who faced barriers to returning to work that WorkSource was able to help him navigate, so that he could find full-time employment and prosper in a new country!
Andrii arrived in the United States in July of 2023. Shortly after, he obtained his work authorization and started to search for employment.
Starting over in a new country is no easy task, especially when there’s a language barrier. In Ukraine, Andrii was a mechanical engineer, but in the United States worked part-time as a member of a Russian-speaking construction crew. He quickly realized that he would need to find full-time work, so he visited Partners in Careers (PIC) to learn more about his options.
WorkSource and PIC work together often to meet the needs of job seekers in the Southwest Washington region. At PIC, Andrii was referred to WorkSource and met with Business Navigator Margarita Marochkina, who could connect with him in his native language.
Our Business Navigators work with a wide variety of businesses in our region to recruit and support candidates in their new jobs. After having Andrii complete his initial paperwork, Margarita saw an opportunity for Andrii with a local company called Dreamline that specializes in making custom cabinets. With the help of WorkSource, he applied, interviewed, and got the job!
This was a win for both Andrii and Dreamline, as WorkSource has services that help both businesses and job seekers. Margarita was able to set Andrii up with an On-the-Job Training (OJT) opportunity—a reimbursement program where WorkSource pays a portion of an employee’s wages while they train at a company. This allows a business to get their new hires up to speed, without the financial burden of training.
For Andrii, he was now enrolled with WorkSource and able to access support services to make starting his new work easier. In Andrii’s case, this means that we were able to provide him with clothing and tools for his new job.
Since starting his OJT in May, Andrii is learning to assemble cabinets while earning $20/hour with full-time hours!
Congratulations to Andrii on his new job! If you’re also looking for work, contact us today! Our Employment Specialists can help guide you toward your goals with free resources; and support services and job training for eligible candidates.
WorkSource is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Washington Relay Service 711.
This program receives support and funding from a U.S. Department of Labor grant(s) provided through Workforce Southwest Washington. Read more about WSW federal funding at WSW Funding Disclosures: https://workforcesw.org/federal-funding-disclosure
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