Today the job placement office for Ukrainian refugees that opened its doors on 10 May is being officially inaugurated at BonelliErede’s office in Via Marostica.

The office, known as the Help Centre, has already helped many refugees find work. The idea was devised by BonelliErede, leader in legal and tax services in Italy, Cometa Formazione social cooperative, which supports young people enter the working world, and ITA2030, an association of professionals from different backgrounds who leverage their networks and skills to support non-profit initiatives.

The centre is open to all Ukrainians in Milan looking for a job and is accessible through shelters in the Milan area and on the Municipality of Milan’s job search platforms.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Municipality of Milan has taken in thousands of Ukrainian refugees: there are around 150 new arrivals every day, and the numbers are only expected to increase in the coming months.

The biggest challenges they face include language, recognition of Ukrainian academic qualifications and, in some cases, lack of marketable skills. So to overcome these, the centre focuses on mapping their skills and aptitudes and providing tailored language and training courses, thanks also to the support of companies wishing to help people whose lives have been devastated by the tragedy of war.

“BonelliErede’s goal is to be a point of exchange for resources and skills and a bridge between the for-profit and non-profit worlds”, commented Marcello Giustiniani, leader of BonelliErede’s CSR Committee and President of ITA2030. “We firmly believe in providing whatever help we can in such difficult times, which is why we are delighted to help spearhead this initiative. We particularly believe in the importance of helping individuals maintain their dignity and develop skills that make a company and country great. Even though the centre opened only a month ago, it has already met with and profiled over a hundred refugees – many of whom have excellent skills, especially in the digital field – and many more refugees will be welcomed through the doors in the coming weeks. The centre is also working with medium- to large-sized companies to provide training and job placements for highly skilled work and with smaller companies for immediate job placements, especially in the construction and catering sectors, to help lighten the refugees’ load also in the short term.”

The initiative draws on the longstanding expertise of Cometa Formazione, with whom BonelliErede has been operating a job placement office since 2017 to help young people with difficult backgrounds find work. Cometa’s goal is always to match job seekers with the right job in the right work environment.