IT Skills 4U: Building skills to persevere

More than one year ago, Russian troops crossed Ukraine’s border and launched the war that’s still raging today. Millions of Ukrainian civilians were forced to flee from their homes to other countries. The life of a refugee presents many challenges: finding a place to live, getting a job, learning a new language, and finding a school for children are just a few. These stresses can pile up quickly when trying to establish a new life in an uncertain environment. Here are the stories of resilient Ukrainians that can teach us the importance of learning and being open to new experiences, and that serve as a testament to our ability to persevere. If you are a Ukrainian displaced by the war or staying in Ukraine, and you’re interested in learning AWS skills and improving your short and long-term employment prospects, we can support you through the IT Skills 4U program. We hope that these stories will teach you more about the program and inspire you to apply.

Sergii and Natalia

Sergii, Natalia, and their two-year old daughter, Anya

When Kyiv residents, Sergii, Natalia, and their two-year old daughter Anya, drove from Ukraine to Poland, the officer at border control asked why they were coming. “There’s nothing going on in Ukraine,” she said. “It’s all fine.” It was late in the evening on February 23, 2022. Exhausted after a long, difficult journey, they drove the car across the border and to a hotel in Przemyśl, where the three of them promptly fell asleep. As they connected their phones to the hotel wifi the next morning, they quickly learned their new reality: Ukraine was under attack, and they were now refugees.

They were lucky to have friends already living in Poland in the city of Wrocław, so they immediately packed up the car and headed there. After a night or two in a hotel, they were able to locate a flat and more or less settle down. A few weeks later, Natalia, who had roots in Poland and already spoke some Polish, landed a job as a Quality Assurance Engineer in a local company. Sergii was able to keep doing his job remotely, but because he worked for a Ukrainian company, the number of projects slowly dwindled. “I was working as a DevOps Engineer with a gaming company. After the war started, the company shrunk. There just wasn’t as much to do.”

In September, Sergii saw an advertisement for the IT Skills 4U program, which offers free AWS Training and Certification for Ukrainians interested in learning cloud skills, transitioning into cloud jobs, or advancing their IT careers. The program curriculum includes a combination of self-paced AWS online training in Ukrainian and English, AWS classroom training, AWS Certification, English and Polish language classes, and career support services. “It seemed really interesting, as I was lacking AWS Cloud skills. This is a puzzle piece that has been missing for me. And the fact that it was free – I just decided to go for it,” shared Sergii. He convinced Natalia to sign up as well. “I didn’t have deep knowledge in this area, but I realized that the certification would help even in my current company,” said Natalia.

After a quick registration process, Sergii enrolled in the Exam Readiness: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate course and Natalia set her sights on the AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials course. Although the pace of learning while managing their new life in Poland has been challenging, the couple has been thrilled with the quality of the training. “My instructor has been great,” Sergii said. “The presentation of the material is brilliant. And for our last day of the instructor-led training, all the learners were invited to Warsaw to meet in person, which was a great experience.”

Sergii and Nataliia are excited about the new skills they’ve acquired. Sergii recently passed his AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam and is currently preparing to achieve AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification. Natalia is working toward her AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. While Natalia is hoping to use the new skills in her current role, Sergii has started his own IT services company in Poland, and his AWS Certifications are already giving him a competitive advantage. “Everything here is different from how you set up a business in Ukraine. There are a lot of little things you need to know,” shared Sergii, whose biggest concern before starting his business was bureaucratic challenges. Luckily, the IT Skills 4U program was one step ahead; Sergii was the first participant in a new business support program within IT Skills 4U, which prepares Ukrainian IT professionals to navigate Poland’s bureaucracy to launch a business. In addition to setting up his own business, Sergii also recently took part in a job fair organized by IT Skills 4U, and has an upcoming interview.

While their long-term future is unclear, the couple are grateful for the opportunities they’ve been given. Their daughter Anya, now 3, is enrolled in a local daycare, which has allowed Sergii and Natalia to focus on their careers. Anya already has many friends and “speaks much better Polish than we do,” according to Natalia. “I want to give a special thanks to the team and AWS for supporting Ukrainians in this difficult situation. Anyone considering cloud training should take advantage of this opportunity.”

Andrii

Andrii, his wife, Olga, and two-year-old son, Bohdan

Andrii couldn’t believe how quickly his AWS training helped him find a new job. An experienced system administrator and native of Kyiv, Andrii moved to Poland in early 2022 along with his wife, Olga, and two-year-old son, Bohdan, where they settled down in the city of Poznan. In August of 2022, Andrii heard about the IT Skills 4U program on the Developers of Ukraine (DOU) Telegram channel. “I went for the Exam Readiness: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate course and in parallel, was looking for a new job. I mentioned that I was doing this course in my CV, and it actually led to me getting an offer.”

Andrii landed a remote developing role with a Singapore-based company. The company was impressed with Andrii’s AWS Cloud knowledge and immediately put his new skills to use. “I built a testing solution using AWS. It lets us know whether the functionality we provide is working for the customer. It’s been amazing to apply everything I was learning in a real-life scenario.”

While leaving Ukraine was difficult, Andrii and his family have been gradually adjusting to life in Poland, and appreciate the opportunities they’ve had. “We love living in Poznan. We are both avid cyclists, and the number of bike paths here is like a dream come true,” shared Andrii. They are also searching for a daycare for their son, Bohdan, to allow Olga to get back to work. In the meantime, Olga is also participating in the IT Skills 4U program, taking the AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials course. “My wife used to work in marketing for an IT company. So, if you have some basic understanding of technical concepts, you can still take some of these courses. You don’t need deep technical expertise. With everything moving to the cloud, this knowledge will be essential for a lot of non-technical roles,” Sergii said of his wife’s cloud learning journey.

Andrii recommends the program to his fellow Ukrainians. “If you’re looking to grow, signing up is a no-brainer. It makes a huge difference in your career prospects. People who have these skills can really increase their chances of getting a good job. It’s a big advantage in the market and I’m super grateful for this opportunity.”

Update as of April 2023, Andrii passed the AWS Solutions Architect – Associate exam, Sergii passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, and AWS Certified Sysops Administrator – Associate, and Nataliia passed AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.

IT Skills 4U is a free training program for Ukrainians willing to learn AWS skills, transition into cloud roles, or advance their IT career. Developed by AWS, the program curriculum includes a combination of self-paced learning (AWS Educate in Ukrainian, AWS Skill Builder), AWS instructor-led training, AWS Certification, English and Polish language classes, and career support services. We are proud to be able to help Ukrainians improve the AWS skills and boost their short and long-term employment prospects. Our goal is to train at least 10,000 Ukrainians with various levels of IT knowledge and connect them with job opportunities in Poland and other countries around the world. Learn more.