Metinvest Group has launched a video course on how to interact with war veterans who have returned to civilian life and are undergoing adaptation at enterprises. The project was developed in collaboration with a military psychologist and crisis interventionist Olena Nikolska.

After demobilisation from the Defence Forces of Ukraine, more than 500 Metinvest employees have already returned to work for the company. Their number will grow over time. To support war veterans in civilian life, Metinvest is developing an inclusive integration ecosystem. In addition to taking care of their physical health and comfortable working conditions, it also includes support for the psycho-emotional state of demobilised people. This is largely facilitated by the work teams in which veterans work.

To ensure more effective communication between them, Metinvest launched a special video course with the participation of military psychologist and crisis interventionist Olena NIKOLSKA. In a series of videos, she explains the myths and anxieties associated with veterans' return to the work teams, gives practical advice to employees and managers on how to prepare for inclusivity and respond to veteran's disability, and what to avoid when dealing with a person with combat experience.

The video course will be of interest not only to work teams where veterans are returning. It will also be useful for anyone who wants to better understand the peculiarities of interaction with former military personnel.

– The task of adapting war veterans to civilian life is not theirs. They have already completed their task. So, they should not return to their companies or families and think about how to fit their "puzzles" into the "picture" of society. It's our job to learn how to communicate properly with the defenders, to prepare the right working conditions and a specific workplace to meet the veteran's needs, to talk to the team and work through certain anxieties and fears. It is up to us to ensure that veterans have an adequate and comfortable adaptation, – Olena NIKOLSKA said.

– Preparing teams for the return of veterans is an important part of Metinvest's work as a company that respects every defender and strives to support veterans now and ensure a decent life for them in the future. And the basis for comfortable adaptation of demobilised employees is our ability to communicate with them, to find the right words to understand how else we can help them. I hope that thanks to the new video course, our colleagues and other conscious Ukrainians will be able to find answers to the most pressing questions about interaction with veterans and, accordingly, become a reliable support for them, – Tetiana PETRUK, Chief Sustainability Officer, said.

In addition, as part of the inclusive ecosystem for integrating veterans into normal life and work, Metinvest has developed and implemented a unique training course for employees Heroes Among Us. Currently, 1,200 managers of the company's enterprises in the regions where Metinvest operates are taking the course.

And thanks to the "Metinvest Together!" service, which the company launched in cooperation with Wellbeing Company at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, professional psychologists have provided more than 7,000 consultations for employees and their families. In particular, for war veterans who have returned from the frontline to civilian work.