June 20: the story of Yuri Balashov, engineer

Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine… by 2023, over 100 million people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes. Despite the fact that almost half of all refugees in Europe have a higher education diploma in their pocket (Eurostat, 2020), it takes them around 10 years, an entire decade, to return to their original socio-professional situation.

Yuri Balashov is an engineer from Ukraine, currently on welfare and looking for work in his host country, Switzerland.

Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your professional career prior to your arrival in Switzerland?

Before coming to Switzerland, I was a private entrepreneur, previously quite successful in Ukraine, and gained some entrepreneurial experience in the creation and sales of electronic equipment for the oil and gas sector of Ukraine.

What were your greatest professional achievements in your home country?

After graduating from university, I began creating my first recording device, it was a 1-year journey, but I was able to establish sales, and most importantly, I believed in myself. I became the author of patents for inventions; my dad s and ’ my devices were popular and worked reliably for years. The main achievement is that I became a successful and self-sufficient person, I could provide for myself, I was able to buy a car.

How long have you lived in Europe?

1 year+.

Do you feel like you have experienced professional downgrading since your arrival?

Can you tell us about it?

Upon arriving in Switzerland, I faced difficulties in finding a job in my field. Unfortunately, my diploma here does not hold much value. I experienced stiff competition in the international labor market: employers, it seems, are not interested in hiring refugees with an uncertain S-status. In addition, there is a language barrier.

As I understand, narrowly specialized professionals are valued here, while my diverse skills and knowledge are perceived as vague and unspecific. My strengths — creativity, high learning ability, an unconventional approach to problem-solving, and a broad outlook — are not properly appreciated, or there is distrust of my achievements described in my resume. Over the past year, I have received many rejections, even when I tried to find work as an intern, apprentice, on a probationary period with 50% pay. Unfortunately, the result is close to zero. I did not feel a decrease in professional level, because… I was able to study information on my profession, learned English, and continued to learn German.

What were the main obstacles you encountered in finding a job that matched your qualifications?

The first is, of course, German, English, documented experience in Switzerland (lack of local reviews).

Can you share a particularly difficult or frustrating moment you experienced while looking for a job in Switzerland?

I found an internship in Schaffhausen, and they were willing to take me on a paid six-month internship, but the commute would have taken at least 5 hours each way… and there was no guarantee that I would be hired by the company after the internship. In another case, the employer invited me to an interview, during which he spent two hours telling me about his work and what he does, without asking me any questions. He didn’t answer my questions properly and I left without any outcome…

How did you hear about SINGA and what motivated you to join us?

Disappointed in my hopes of finding a job in my field, I started thinking about becoming self-employed, i.e. starting a business here. I understood that I had no money, my start-up capital = 0, and I started looking for startup platforms that could help with funding and training. At the employment agency in

Rapperswil, they advised me about the existence of two platforms, SINGA and CAPACITY. I missed the deadline for CAPACITY, but SINGA (Ria) seemed very friendly and positive, and they accepted me.

What SINGA program(s) have you taken and how did they help you overcome professional downgrading?

SINGA has been a great help to me: it has taught me about business processes. I had never thought so much about my clients and their needs, market analysis, communication with potential clients, working on goals, planning, and a serious approach to preparing for a business launch.

Can you share an experience or a key moment when SINGA had a particular impact on your career?

SINGA gave me confidence in myself, supported me and instilled in me the hope that I can be successful. I am very grateful for the knowledge, experience, connections and support.

Would you like to add anything to conclude your story?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Swiss people for their continued support and assistance to us Ukrainians. For giving us the opportunity (right) to work, our children to study in kindergartens and schools, to call our relatives in Ukraine, to learn German, to help us integrate, to provide us with food, various events including excursions, to invite us to church meetings, this is incredibly valuable to us. For the kind and generous help they provide us, and for the humanitarian aid that the Swiss people send to Ukraine.

SINGA actively supports new arrivals in Europe and Canada, helping them to rebuild their network and find a professional activity that matches their skills. SINGA offers entrepreneurial support programs, enabling newcomers to create and develop their own businesses. With 12 incubators in Europe, SINGA has supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs, 50% of whom are women. These initiatives enable ambitious projects to come to fruition, and 60% of incubated companies remain in business after three years.

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Interview conducted as part of SINGA Global’s World Refugee Day awareness campaign on the professional downgrading of refugees on June 20.