Two young professionals from Ukraine who sought refuge in Peterborough celebrated at awards ceremony

Two young professionals who’ve found refuge in Peterborough from their war-torn home country Ukraine were among the East of England learners celebrated at a Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) award ceremony in February.

Oleksandr Panasevych and Dmytro Ursov picked up their gold and silver awards at Cambridge’s Guildhall.

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, co-hosted the awards, part of the WEA’s 120th anniversary year celebrations, with WEA Chief Executive Simon Parkinson. Deputy Mayor Cllr Anna Smith was also in attendance.

Oleksandr Panasevych scooped gold, with a Gold Developing Confidence Award, through his attendance on the WEA’s ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) course.

Oleksandr worked as a financial coach in Ukraine and is looking to find a similar role in England but needed some support with the language. During his classes he’s shown a keen interest in the English language, initiated whole group discussions, and grown in confidence.

He said: “Thank you to WEA for this opportunity. I needed to improve my English for speaking socially, in the local community, and to find a better job. I plan to work in financial consultancy in the UK and need better English for this. A better job starts from better English.

“Ukraine has big problems; we try to live now in this moment and think about our future here. Our host family has become our family, and we are so glad to be living here in the UK.”

Oleksandr’s wife is also preparing for work in the UK and attends WEA ESOL classes with Oleksandr.

Dmytro Ursov, picked up a Silver Developing Confidence Award at the ceremony, for his work on our ESOL Skills for Life course.

Dmytro worked as an engineer in the Ukraine but, like many, his life was turned upside down by the war. A language barrier meant he was unable to pick up his love of engineering in the UK, so he decided to enrol on a WEA course.

Through his resilience he’s made remarkable progress on his ESOL course. Dymtro is now actively participating in UK engineering job interviews and striving to enhance his English proficiency to give himself the best opportunity.

He said: “I recently arrived in the UK from Ukraine and needed to improve my communication skills, especially speaking and listening.

“The WEA course has really helped me. I learnt English in school and university in Ukraine and understand the grammar etc but didn’t practise speaking and listening. The WEA course has really helped me for now and in the future.”

Simon Parkinson, Chief executive of the WEA, added: “Oleksandr and Dmytro’s stories are quite remarkable, and we are so proud of their achievements with the WEA.

“They’ve had to overcome huge challenges, fleeing their lives and careers in war-torn Ukraine. They’ve shown exceptional resilience in the face of adversity, and used the skills learnt on their ESOL courses to improve their knowledge and skills and help them continue their careers.

“I hope other people will read their stories and give WEA a chance to help them learn – whether it is a course to develop a new skill for life, work, or just for pleasure.”