On June 1, the final of the sixth My Career in Ukraine national project, organized by the Center for the Development of Corporate Social Responsibility, the Career Hub platform together with First Ukrainian International Bank, took place. 

30 teenagers who reached the finals of the project met with top managers in Kyiv Oleksandr Yarema, State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Serhiy Mahdych, Deputy Chairman of the FUIB Board, Sayiara Akhmedova, founder of Clínica 28 - maxillofacial and plastic surgery clinic, and Volodymyr Ostapchuk, TV presenter on the Ukraina channel, shared their experience and career successes with them.

Panel discussions, interesting stories, certificates of participation in the project and gifts from the organizers were waiting for the teenagers. And most importantly: they met with top managers from the fields they are interested in at their workplaces. The children visited the Lux Medical dental clinic, the Clínica 28 maxillofacial and aesthetic surgery clinic, the Ukraina TV channel, FUIB, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Three After Midnight museum, the HBMEDICAL MRI Diagnostics Center, Pavlenko Legal Group, Syngenta Agricultural Company, Giunti Psychometrics Ukraine and IT Integrator IT Company.

"Conscious choice of career development by adolescents affects the development of the country as a whole. It is extremely important that young people receive professional knowledge not only in higher education facilities, but also mentoring support and practical experience from specialists in a particular field. The opportunities provided by the My Career in Ukraine project help students prepare for future challenges, as they are told about all the pitfalls of professions in various fields,” said Maryna Popatenko, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.

“Communicating with experts is a unique experience for teenagers. Experts share their thoughts, mistakes and experiences on how to build a career in Ukraine. Children have glowing eyes at meetings with TOPs, because these are real life stories. In addition, the My Career in Ukraine project teaches teenagers important competencies: to explore the field of activity, to analyze data, to work in a team, to be creative and to defend their views. This is my favorite project, because it is about the happiness of finding your way. Only a happy person is able to create something valuable,” said Tetiana Kolesnyk, FUIB's CSR sector manager.

Students had the opportunity to ask all the questions that interested them, see the professions in which they dream of realization, and get recommendations from the top on their own development.

“When my class teacher offered to take part in the project, I was a little hesitant. But now I understand that this is a cool opportunity for teenagers. We listened to webinars by TOP managers, got a lot of knowledge and energy from successful people, and now we can use it to achieve our own goals and change not only our own lives, but also try to change something in the country", said Illia Maliovanyi, from Vyshneve, Kyiv region, participant of the sixth My Career in Ukraine project.

“During the project, researching different professions and industries, I realized that the media field I was thinking about earlier was not for me. Now I have become interested in cybersecurity, because I attended a meeting with the head of FUIB's security, saw what the work looks like from the inside and heard a lot of useful and new information", said Olena Naumenko, from Makhnivka, Vinnytsia region, participant of the sixth My Career in Ukraine project.

More than 4,000 students from grades 9-10 participated in the My Future in Ukraine all-Ukrainian national lesson. Over 1,500 high school students registered for the sixth My Career in Ukraine project; most applications came from children from Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, and the city of Kyiv. The 300 most motivated teenagers met successful people in career meetings in medical, creative, media, services, industry fields, as well as in business, economics and IT fields. And only the 30 most active teenagers made it to the finals of the project to spend a day with their idols and learn more about the profession that interests them.

"We want to give young people career opportunities in Ukraine, develop the necessary skills, and help them choose their future profession consciously. Our project is a kind of platform for communication between young people and successful top managers, where they can share their experience with Ukrainian youth,” said Taras Derkach, head of the Career Hub platform.

Project partners: Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. Information partners: Blahomay Charitable Foundation and The Odnoklasnyk Magazine.