Acting Against Ageism: INTEGRITES Hires Participant of the Senior Trainee Week

In July 2024, INTEGRITES hired Larysa Pavlenko, participant of the Senior Trainee Week, an annual initiative of the Enjoying Life Charitable Foundation. Having successfully completed a week-long internship at the firm, Larysa now joins its administrative department to work full-time as a receptionist.

Our new colleague is a certified travel industry specialist with over 20 years of experience as a flight attendant. Her employment represents one of the first cases of job seekers aged 50+ being integrated into the INTEGRITES core team. Larysa also became the first job seeker hired by the firm through its participation in the Senior Trainee Week.

Mariya Spyelkova, Chief Operating Officer, INTEGRITES: "The value which adult interns can bring to business has increased significantly as the war has led to a significant shortage of skilled labour force in Ukraine. Having Larysa join us is a milestone in implementing inclusive approach in our employment practices. Larysa is experienced, qualified and proficient in English, so she will definitely become an asset to our team. We believe that hiring seniors is a benefit because they have much to share with the younger colleagues. Tackling age discrimination requires a broader mindset and willingness to break the patterns. We plan to participate in the next Senior Trainee Week and look forward to see more companies joining this initiative."

Tina Nikolova (Mykhailovska), founder of “Enjoying Life” Charitable Foundation: "We are not just fighting ageism, we are changing and shaping the future for ourselves. We want to ensure that in 10-20 years we have equal opportunities with the younger generation in terms of access to the job market. If we don't deal with this issue now, one day we will find ourselves discriminated – everyone will be aged 50+ at some point. Only the understanding that fighting ageism concerns everyone will result in significant changes in this aspect".

Senior Trainee Week is a project of social importance that aims to fight ageism in Ukraine, in particular, age discrimination in the labour market. The project was launched by Enjoying Life charitable foundation established in 2013 to provide targeted aid to the elderly and organise their leisure time. Leveraging an extensive volunteer network, the foundation offers senior citizens many opportunities for socialisation and integration into local communities, as well as provides free hot lunches to those of them residing in Kyiv.