Kyiv hosted a large-scale presentation of the "Future" programme by NGO "The Heart of Azovstal", which provides comprehensive support to Mariupol defenders and their families.
The "Future" programme is a comprehensive support for veterans' post-service adaptation and self-realisation. The programme aims to help Mariupol's defenders decide where to move on, what profession to choose and how to achieve their goals.
"The military is the core of Ukraine's future. Not only in terms of defence, but also social and economic development. Any sphere of life in Ukraine for the next 20-30 years is doomed to become veteran-centric. The philosophy of the "Future" programme is not only about how to help people return to civilian life. It is also about how to use the knowledge, skills, and everything that the military have inside them to the maximum extent possible in life after service," said Natalia YEMCHENKO, member of the Supervisory Board of "The Heart of Azovstal".
A total of 384 military personnel has already joined the veterans' adaptation programme. 145 are already successfully learning a new profession or upgrading their skills. Most often, these are IT, cybersecurity or driving professions. About 40 defenders are pursuing higher education.
In 2024, the "Future" programme was launched as a separate ecosystem of support - from finding new goals in civilian life to employment. This process involves psychologists, career mentors, educational institutions, and training centres, as well as businesses that are partners of "The Heart of Azovstal" and are ready to employ veterans. Metinvest Group is among them.
"Today, almost every sixth employee at Metinvest has been mobilised, and 500 have already returned from the front and resumed peaceful work at our enterprises. The company has created an entire ecosystem to ensure their comfortable adaptation. The main areas of work include psychological rehabilitation, additional medical examinations, retraining and professional development, and preferential admission to Metinvest Polytechnic University. We are ready to accept and employ both demobilised employees and veterans from the market. Currently, Metinvest has about 4,000 vacancies, most of which are in high-demand professions," said Oleh DAVYDENKO, Director of Metinvest Group's Corporate Communications Department, during the discussion panel "Post-traumatic growth: the role of education and employment".
A career mentor is a guide who will help a veteran decide on a future career based on their military experience and build a path to achieving new goals.
The organisation also provides a range of educational services through partners under the "Future" programme:
▪️ higher education;
▪️ advanced training and retraining;
▪️ foreign language courses;
▪️ driving courses;
▪️ IT courses;
▪️ entrepreneurship courses.
In total, "The Heart of Azovstal" has seven support programmes: "Return", "Health", "Family", "Protection", "At Home", "Future" and "Sport". In 2023, the organisation supported 4,052 defenders of Mariupol. In total, the project provided more than 8,500 aids, including support after returning from captivity, treatment, prosthetics, training, and apartments. The project's assistance to the defenders totalled almost UAH 500 million.
