Oleg Sakharov, Camrose, Canada

"Professionalism, diligence and hard work are of great value here and work is fairly paid. Who is ready to work hard to achieve his goal, will become successful."

I was born and grew up in Cherkasy; I studied at school and graduated from the institute there as well. When I was 18, I started working part-time at McDonald's during my study time. Being 23 I started working in the trade industry. I worked for several employers, but I did not find myself in this sector. I was looking for stability. Starting from 2005 I worked in the commercial bank in my native city, where I also held senior positions such as Head of Loan Department, Deputy Head of Small Business Department. Despite of a quite successful career I seemed to achieve its top and I was unable to move any forward not having some connections in this business. On the other hand, my salary did not correspond to all those duties and responsibilities that I had to carry - it is a typical situation for the Ukrainian companies. I also took a mortgage loan, and its monthly payment exceeded my monthly earnings. Well, it was a quite typical situation for Ukraine that made me start looking for a job abroad. During one year I contacted dozen of agencies, who were offering a better future and big money abroad - in Denmark, the USA, Canada. All of them required investments prior to starting the employment process, although no one could guarantee that the process would be successful. I was not confident in success with none of these companies. One day a friend of mine, who was working in Great Britain for many years, recommended me to contact ILC. When I first contacted ILC, I received the free of charge consultation and was not promised anything. This impressed me, because the fee for consultations in the other agencies was between 50 and 100 UAH. I was offered to fill in an application form that could be further considered by foreign employers and to be registered in the company's data base. As a result, I was offered to participate in the program for food counter attendants in Canada. This is where my previous experience at McDonald's became useful. I paid only for the  medical check, the IELTS test and Canada visa fee. All together it cost only 600 USD. ILC services, flight tickets and other expenses were covered by the employer.
Canada itself attracted me most of all from the beginning. First, because there is the largest Ukrainian community there. Second, the country was built by the immigrants from all over the world, so foreign workers are treated good here. Canadian nature and climate are very similar to the one in Ukraine, at least where I currently leave.
My job is quite easy: I make coffee, clean around and communicate with customers for 11 CAD$ per hour. Of course, it is not like sitting in a soft chair in a cozy bank office, but on the other hand it is not like working in the mine or a drilling rig. The most important for me at that time was the fact that my salary in Canada was 4 times higher that my salary in Ukraine. Today my promotion to supervisor's position in the company is being discussed (corresponds to manager position in Ukraine).
I would like to say thank ILC for this program for food counter attendants, for the professionalism of its employees, for their assistance at each stage on my way to Canada.
My first impression here was very positive. The store owner met us in the airport and took us to the house where we would live till the end of the contract. The house appeared to be large and cozy and -what the most important, it is located 100 miters from the work place. It was equipped with home appliances, such as the washing machine, electric dryer, dishwashing machine etc. The rental cost for this place is not only quite low for Canada, but also compared with the prices in Ukraine. And the quality of life is much higher.
I was positively impressed by prices for food products that did not differ much from the ones in Ukraine. For some products, like meatfor example, the prices are even lower. It is also nice that one can easily afford a car, high quality home appliances, and brand clothes without making long time  savings.  Not so many people can afford this in Ukraine.
Our Ukrainian friends, who arrived half a year before us, helped us to learn the town where we lived. The town is not a big one, with  population only 15 000, it has a university, a large sports center with hockey rinks and football pitches, tennis courts and a fitness center. I was impressed by the low prices.
As I said before, my town is very small and almost everyone knows each other here. At the first time I could not get used to politeness and affability of unknown people. Everyone smiles here and greats each other, gives the way. They always ask about how the things are, perhaps not always sincerely, but it is always pleasant anyway. This is how Canadians were brought up and what they got used to. There are not too many Ukrainians in our town, but we have already have Canadian friends.
I have been here just for only a year. I am far from my family and my home, and I  miss my family. But when I meet people who have lived here for years they rarely say that they would better come back to Ukraine. More and more people bring their families, children, parents to Canada. This is what I dream to do too. I see many opportunities here for me and my family.
Looking back at the year I lived in Canada, I cannot say that I have huge steps in my career or earnings. However, my bank account is growing and does not have a negative balance as in Ukraine. I bought a good car, I live in a house I could just dream about in Ukraine. I can afford many things that I even didn't think of before. I am planning to bring my family over here. Today I have far more opportunities here in Canada than I had in my native country.
People, who know exactly what they want, should come here. Money does not appear if you do not put any affort. Professionalism, diligence and hard work are of great value here and work is fairly paid. Who is ready to work hard to achieve his goal, will become successful.