Programme Digi Talents has now been extended to Ukraine

The main objective of the Digi Talents programme is to attract international talent and help fill the shortage of labour in the Slovak ICT sector. It also brings expertise in the area of managed labour mobility and experience that will contribute to the creation of national programmes to attract talent and skilled labour from abroad in a way that is also responsible for the development of the country of origin.

Why does Slovakia need international talent?

From 2022 in Moldova and from July this year in Ukraine, we are looking for young IT talents who would like to work for a year in technology companies in Slovakia.

Thanks to the Digi Talents programme, young and aspiring professionals from Moldova and Ukraine come to Slovakia to work and intern in renowned companies such as ESET, Orange, Accenture, Multitude IT Labs, IBM and others. During the year they gain new experience and improve their professional skills with the help of our experts.

“The start of my journey with Digi Talents was challenging because of my self-doubt. I was worried if I would do a good job and get fired during the trial period. I am new to IT, I started gaining my first experience only a few months ago, and ESET is known for being a top IT company. I was scared that I didn’t have sufficient qualifications, “recalls Viktor, one of the Moldovan participants of the programme.

However, Viktor showed his potential and determination, and the manager at ESET even shortened his trial period from three to two months.

Digi Talents enriches Slovakia and connects young professionals and companies

Thanks to their experience working in Slovakia, the participants have a better chance of finding a job while bringing new knowledge to the domestic labour market. At the same time, through internships, the programme promotes the knowledge exchange between the Slovak, Ukrainian and Moldovan ICT sectors. Last but not least, it also develops business relations between private companies in all three countries.

A good example of such a relationship was observed between Orange Slovakia and Orange Moldova when two participants, initially working for Orange Slovakia, gained employment with the local branch of Orange upon their return to Moldova.

“This experience has been very precious, and I am grateful for the knowledge and skills I gained here. From the beginning, I was welcomed by the team and given meaningful tasks that allowed me to contribute to the ongoing projects," explains Alex, who returned to Moldova in January.

Based on the expertise that Ilinca and Alex gained in Slovakia, Orange decided to open a brand-new department in Moldova. At the same time, both participants continue part time work for Orange Slovakia despite the return to their home country. In this way, Orange Slovakia has not lost its workforce investment, but has further contributed to the development of its partner company in Moldova.

"With the support of my supervisor, I learned things I didn't even know existed, broadened my horizons and gained more self-confidence. Whenever I struggled with a task, the Qlik Sense team helped me. Their support has been indispensable. Even the atmosphere in the building was special in some ways as if there was enthusiasm and dedication in the air - you could feel a strong employee-friendly environment," says Ilinca. 

 
Ukraine has joined Moldova

Digi Talents has already been running for two years. During this time 14 companies, such as Orange, ESET, SOITRON, IBM, Multitude IT Labs, VUB, UI42, freevision, Accenture, ČSOB, SWISS Re, Synpulse, ESB and Solver IT, have joined the programme and offered employment or professional internship to its participants.

Moldova was the first country where the programme started, and this year we added Ukraine, focusing primarily on women- ICT programme graduates or young professionals interested in gaining new work experience to kick-start their careers.

While we have already successfully matched some companies with the Moldovan applicants, our first participant from Ukraine arrived in September 2023.

In the coming months, we will continue to recruit participants in both countries, collect and evaluate the lessons learned from the 3-year implementation phase, and prepare a practical guide for the institutions involved in preparing the national labour mobility programmes. We will then conclude the project with a final seminar to present the findings.

Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for further updates about the programme.

The project is funded by the European Union through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The project is co-financed by SlovakAid.