Report - Designers for Ukraine

1. Introduction – about the project

2. Project submissions

2.1. Submissions from offices/employers

2.2. Applications from jobseekers

3. Employment found thanks to the project

4. Summary of communication activities

5. Stories of persons employed

6. Summary of the project and conclusions

Raport: 28.02—30.06.2022

The Designers for Ukraine (Projektantki_ci dla Ukrainy) project and platform were created on February 28, 2022, on the initiative of the Polish National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning (NIAiU), the Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Architects, and the Design Institute in Kielce. The aim of the project was to help people affected by the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine –to help them find work, and at the same time to link the Polish and the Ukrainian architectural milieus.

As part of the platform, available at niaiu.pl, a database of companies from creative industries was developed – companies, which offered various forms of employment: from long-term work for people planning to settle in Poland, to casual work for people in need of support and financial stability during their temporary stay in Poland. During the project’s development, job offers from companies from other countries in Europe and around the world were also added to the database. The options also included paid internships for students, and remote work opportunities for people who either did not wish to or could not leave Ukraine where they have lost their job or place of employment.

The second database was devoted to jobseekers who – after completing the form (available in Ukrainian or English) – were redirected by NIAiU to specific design studios or institutions. The project helped people with varying education qualifications, working in different professions related to architecture, engineering and construction, graphic design, culture, and other creative fields. This report summarizes the activities of the first four months of the platform’s operation.

2. Project submissions

2.1. Submissions from offices/employers

Submissions in total: 355

Unique submissions: 321

Incorrect reports: 33, including duplicates of employers’ applications: 13

filling in an incorrect form (i.e. the form intended for employers) by job seekers: 21

Where did the employers come from?

Employers’ submissions originated from the following countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, USA, Great Britain (two people also found work in offices not on our list, namely, in Lithuania)

During the four months of the platform’s operation, 321 studios from Poland and abroad made their submissions to participate in the project. Job offers could be submitted by filling in the form for employers, available online at niaiu.pl.

Number of submissions:

Poland – 298

Czech Republic – 9

Portugal – 4

USA – 4

Germany – 3

UK – 2

Singapore – 1

Switzerland – 1

Centres (cities) from which employers made submissions (in alphabetical order)

Abroad

Prague – 6

Porto – 4

Berlin – 2

Brno – 2

Plus one submission each from:

Dusseldorf, Houston, London, Miami, Salt Lake City, Singapore, Springfield, Uherské Hradiste, York, Zurich

The smallest centres:

In Poland:

Warsaw – 99

Poznań – 26

Kraków – 25

Wrocław – 24

Łódź – 21

Katowice – 11

Gdańsk – 7

Sopot – 6

Bielsko-Biała – 5

Gdynia – 5

Olsztyn – 4

Bytom – 3

Gliwice – 3

Kielce – 3

Piła – 2

Radom – 2

Szczecin – 2

Tychy – 2

Zgierz – 2

Zgorzelec – 2

Plus one submission each from:

Aleksandrów Łódzki, Białystok, Biskupice, Blizne Łaszczyńskiego, Bydgoszcz, Chełm, Ciechanów, Czarnków, Człuchów, Giżycko, Gostynin, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Jadwisin, Jaworzno, Jelenia Góra, Jonkowo, Kliniska Wielkie, Kołobrzeg, Krotoszyn, Leszno, Lublin, Mielec, Mława, Myszków, Nowy Sącz, Nowy Targ, Nowy Żmigród, Olkusz, Jonkowo, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Oświęcim, Puszczykowo, Racibórz, Ruda Śląska, Rybnik, Rzeszów, Skawina, Skierniewice, Skórzewo, Straszyn koło Gdańska, Strzałkowo, Swarzędz, Wałbrzych, Wieliczka, Zabrze, Złotoryja, Żyrardów, Żywiec

*some offices listed two locations

Blizne Łaszczyńskiego (813 inhabitants [2010]), company: Muraspec

Jadwisin (1033 inhabitants [2020]), company: MM.Krajobrazy Magdalena Możdżeń

Kliniska Wielkie (1,168 inhabitants [2009]), company: Karolina Zagrodzka

The largest centres:

London, UK (approx. 9 million inhabitants [2020]), company: Studio Egret West Ltd.

Singapore (approx. 5.69 million inhabitants [2020]), company: Digital Blue Foam

Berlin, Germany (approx. 3.65 million inhabitants [2019]), companies: Gerber Architekten International GmbH, Graft Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH

Houston, USA (approx. 2.31 million inhabitants [2020]), company: SWA Group

Most popular (with most requests):

Poland:

Warsaw (99 zgłoszeń)

Poznań (25 zgłoszeń)

Wrocław (23 zgłoszenia)

Abroad:

Prague (6 zgłoszeń)

Porto (4 zgłoszenia)

*Only unique submissions were taken into account – in the case of companies that made submissions to the project twice, only the first submission was considered.

2.2. Applications from job seekers

Statistically, half of the people who applied to the “Designers for Ukraine” project were people who remained in Ukraine – the forms for job seekers were filled in by people who remained in the hotspots of war zone, those who migrated internally to the western part of Ukraine, or those who were not able to leave the country because of their gender. The situation forced them to look for remote work, both in Ukraine and abroad. Poland has become a place to look for a job for over a third of all jobseekers. The geography of the search was varied – from large cities, where it was easier to find a job in their special field of expertise, to small centres, where Ukrainian women and men came to stay with their relatives, friends, or Poles who hosted them. For the remaining group, Poland was a transfer point – whence they moved on, usually to Western Europe.

Number of applications from people looking for a job: 2282

What occupations were the candidates were seeking (in %)?

885 (38.8%) Architecture

617 (27%) Interior design

279 (12.2%) Graphics

144 (6.3%) Other creative occupations

81 (3.5%) 3D graphics and visuals

58 (2.5%) UX/UI design

42 (1.8%) Engineering and construction

40 (1.7%) Office administration

21 (0.9%) Landscape architecture

16 (0.7%) Cultural institutions

Where from, and where were they looking for work?

100%

1136 (49.8%) looking to work remotely from Ukraine

753 (33%) looking for work within Poland

722 (31.6%) looking for work anywhere in the world (i.e. presently remaining in Ukraine or having not yet decided which country to go to)

3. Employment found thanks to the project

3.1. Offices/employers who employed the jobseekers

Offices from the database that confirmed hiring

AGP1

APA

Archvis

Arcimed

AXIS MASON

Barbara Browarnik-Cieśla Projekty

Baskervill

BDMA

Broadway Malyan Polska Architekci i Projektanci

CRARCH

Czachor studio

DCAD

DESIGN PLUS

Digital Blue Foam

Doktor Architekci / DeBeSKa Konsorcjum Projektowe

DŻUS GK Architekci

EASST ARCHITECTS

EPR Architects Poland

few.

Formastudio.eu

Frankie Creative

Grupa 5

IMB Asymetria – Asymetria Interior

Instytut Dizajnu w Kielcach

JAM Kolektyw

JIO

John Robertson Architects Ltd.

Kamil Bocian Architektura

Karolina Zagrodzka

Kuryłowicz & Associates Sp. z o.o.

Laka

LK&PROJEKT

Maćków Pracownia Projektowa

Miacasa

Midori Project

Modoarchitektura

Myriagon Ruszkiewicz-Bogusz & Ruszkiewicz

NABOO STUDIO

Ośrodek „Pamięć i Przyszłość” / Centrum Historii Zajezdnia

Plus3-Architekci

Plus8

Pracownia Ona Winogrodzka

Pracownia Projektowa Blomm

RES Design

SAAN Architekci

Sic!

Stalgast Studio Egret West Ltd.

Studio Politowicz

Studio Projektowe Make-it

SWISSROC

Tacakiewicz Ferma Kresek

The Digital Bunch

To be design Weronika Budzichowska

Traffic Design

TŘI.ČTRNÁCT Architekti

UCEES

Visux

WWAA

ZAPA Karolina Zajączkowska

Zuzanna Malinowska Studio

Cities where the employers’ offices are located:

Aleksandrów Łódzki

Brno

Gdańsk

Gdynia

Gliwice

Grodzisk Mazowiecki

Katowice

Kielce

Kliniska Wielkie

Kraków

Krotoszyn

Londyn

Łódź

Mława

Olsztyn

Piła

Poznań

Radom

Singapur

Warszawa

Wrocław

York

Zabrze

The remaining people who found work were redirected to offices and institutions outside the database.

How many people have been actually employed? So far, 151 people have found work.

Jobseekers – number of applications:

During the four months of the project, 68 employers confirmed the employment of at least one person affected by the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 60 of these offices placed their offer in the database on the niaiu.pl website, and the remaining 8 job seekers were redirected by NIAiU or project partners. Many employers also helped their new employees find housing or provided transportation.

Among the offices from our database that made the hiring decisions were employers from Poland, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Great Britain.

24 offices withdrew their participation in the project without employing any person from Ukraine. As the most common reasons behind such decision, employers mentioned the lack of new projects to be implemented, inadequate qualifications of people applying, and the inability to offer remote work, which turned out to be the most popular employment format sought.

Number of offices that hired an employee/ employees:

68 (including 8 outside our database)

The offices offered work in the following professions: 100%

215 (67%) Architecture

139 (43,3%) 3D graphics and visualizations

135 (42,1%) Interior design

44 (13,7%) Engineering and construction

35 (10,9%) Landscape architecture

22 (6,9%) Office administration

17 (5,3%) Other creative professions

14 (4,4%) UX/UI design

5 (1,6%) Cultural institutions

The offices offered the opportunity to work: 100%

227 (70,7%) on-site only

90 (28%) with the possibility of remote work

4 (1,3%) only remotely

4. Summary of communication activities

The reception to the project was mostly very positive. Communication of project activities was based on addressing messages regarding the database and forms to design offices and directly to people from Ukraine who matched the project assumptions – to those potentially seeking employment. Sub-sites dedicated to the initiative recorded over 33,500 page views. A supplementary activity entailed the presentation of selected stories of people who found employment thanks to the “Designers for Ukraine” project. So far, three profiles have been presented: Alyona Davydova, Yuliia Krylova and Oleksandr Ruban. The reach of this series was 17,500 recipients. The total reach of all social media posts related to the project exceeded the number of 108,000 recipients. The reach of publications in traditional and online media amounted to over 256,000 recipients, according to data provided by the Institute of Media Monitoring.

5. Stories of persons employed

Alyona Davydova works at EPR Architects. This is her story:

I left Gostomel, a town near Kiev; we had a house there. I used to work mainly in Kiev. I was hired to work at the EPR Architects studio in Wrocław right after I sent in my CV. I had an interview in English on Friday, and I went to work on Monday. I like the studio. The conditions here are good, the office is comfortable. They do large-scale projects. Everyone is very friendly and helpful, and I feel part of the team. I am very grateful for the help. It was very important for me to find a job where I would design interiors, and everything that goes with it. Now, thanks to you, I have this opportunity.

You can see Alyona’s work at: https://www.behance.net/ alyona_davydova

Oleksandr Ruban, who works at Vivid Vision:

I work at Vivid vision. I am still going through a trial period at work, and the process of formalizing the documents. I am waiting for the PESEL (personal identification number), but the case is delayed because I did not cross the Ukrainian-Polish border directly. The job is interesting, I do the things that I like doing. The team is very nice; I think it’s also easier for me because there are other Ukrainians and Belarusians on the team. The owners of the company speak English well, so we share a common language.

You can see Oleksandr’s work at: https://www.behance.net/ rubanalexsandr

I come from Bucza. When the war started, I was already in Wrocław. I was looking for a job after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts here. I had tickets to go back home for March 12th. But I stayed, and the question of finding a job became urgent. Thanks to the “Designers for Ukraine” program, recruitment has accelerated. 10 days after sending out my CV, I started working at the Maćków Pracownia Projektowa office. I signed the contract, I did my medical examinations, and I took out insurance. It turned out that I already knew the work of this office. They create the face of modern Wrocław. The employment process itself was non-standard. The conversation was less formal than usual, the decision quicker than usual. And so here I am in the office, a colleague greets me with a Ukrainian “hello”, I publish reports from art classes with Ukrainian children on the company’s Skype, we eat Polish tomato soup with homemade noodles. Getting into the workflow is easy; I received a few small tasks, thanks to which I get to know the style of the studio.

Yuliia Krylova, Maćków Design Studio in Wrocław:

When initiating the “Designers for Ukraine” project, we did not expect it to be so popular – during the first four months, almost 2,282 jobseekers applied, and 321 companies from Poland and abroad declared their willingness to employ Ukrainians affected by the invasion of their country by Russia. We were not sure how long it would last, either. The highest intensification of submissions from both jobseekers and employers was observed in March and April. Over time, there were fewer and fewer job offers, and the need for support in finding employment also decreased significantly.

As part of the project, by the end of June 2022, we managed to arrange employment for 151 people – some of them were redirected to specific offices by NIAiU or project partners, some found work through the database of job offers available on the Institute’s website. However, due to such great interest, we were not able to provide each jobseeker with individually profiled assistance. There were also a large number of questions related to the formal employment of persons from Ukraine, which, due to dynamic legislative changes in Poland, often could not be answered unequivocally on an on-going basis, at the given time.

Forms that were filled in both by the employers offering employment, and by jobseekers, although initially they were helpful in quickly creating a database, ultimately did not prove fully practical with the view to the great interest that the project generated. We encountered many incorrectly completed forms, whereas typos in phone numbers or e-mail addresses often prevented getting in touch with particular persons. In most cases, communication with jobseekers was best done through the Telegram messenger, which is less popular in Ukraine. Employers, on the other hand, sometimes reported that they received applications inappropriate to the profile of their company’s activity, and that the portfolio, which should have been attached by the applicants, was missing.

The database of offices offering employment was one of the first initiatives of this type both in Poland and abroad. “Designers for Ukraine” has also inspired other projects – including an informal association of Ukrainian women architects in Warsaw, supported by Inna Przestrzeń (The Other Space) Foundation and the Centrum Wsparcia Komunikacji Warszawa (Warsaw Contact Centre).

Colophon

Project coordination

Kacper Kępiński

Zuzanna Mielczarek

Joanna Lickiewicz

Petro Vladimirov

Oleksandra Maiboroda

Dominik Witaszczyk

Joanna Krupa

Graphic design and layout

Katarzyna Nestorowicz