Oboz.ua has recognised Metinvest Group in two categories in the rating of Ukraine’s best employers: “A Place for Heroes” for its programme for veterans; and “A Place for the Ambitious” for Metinvest Polytechnic university and its retraining programmes.
The publication analysed the conditions offered to Ukrainians by dozens of the largest employers in various industries. This includes salaries, training opportunities, career development and corporate social responsibility.
The winners in the “A Place for Heroes” category were selected based on training and retraining programmes for employees, the creation of veterans communities and care for veterans. Along with Metinvest, DTEK was also recognised in this category.
Metinvest is one of the largest employers in Ukraine and a leader among companies hiring veterans. According to Korn Ferry, the Group employs nearly one third of the veterans who have returned to work at large business enterprises. Over a decade of war, some 10,000 Metinvest employees have been mobilised, with approximately 8,000 currently serving in Ukraine’s army. Around 1,000 veterans have already returned to the Group’s enterprises.
The Group has developed a comprehensive reintegration ecosystem for former military personnel, providing support across all areas of work and life. This includes health and well-being, training for veterans, legal and financial assistance, social support and the preparation of managers and teams for the return of veterans.
Metinvest’s enterprises have introduced retraining and professional adaptation programmes that are also available to veterans who, due to health reasons, cannot return to their previous jobs. In 2024, 15,500 people completed vocational training, including specialised courses, at the Group’s enterprises.
The Group has one of the best employee motivation systems. Remuneration consists of salary and bonuses. Employee performance is assessed based on the achievement of personal and team goals according to a performance scorecard. In addition to financial remuneration, the Group offers additional benefits, including voluntary health insurance.
Metinvest takes care of its mobilised employees and their families. All mobilised employees are retained in their jobs. Seriously injured employees are paid for treatment and assisted with prosthetics. Through the prosthetics, rehabilitation and surgical programme, 136 defenders and civilian Ukrainians, including mobilised employees, have received assistance.
Metinvest shared the top position in the “A Place for the Ambitious” category with OKKO and Nova Poshta. The main factors behind this recognition were the provision of the best conditions for career development, as well as corporate education and advanced training programmes.
The opening of Metinvest Polytechnic secured the Group’s position among employers that pay special attention to the growth of their employees.
Metinvest Polytechnic was created as a platform for generating ideas for the development of Ukrainian industry and as a centre for continuous education, providing new opportunities for learning and career advancement in the engineering field. The goal of the project is to introduce European-level higher technical and practice-oriented education in Ukraine.
The need for qualified personnel was one of the reasons for establishing the mining and metals university. Having its own university enables the Group to train specialists who will meet its modern needs, as well as those of the mining and metallurgical complex as a whole. The Group has already invested UAH513 million in the creation of the material base and in the development of the university.
Since 2022, more than 1,080 people have enrolled at the university. Over 4,300 people have completed advanced training courses and workshops. In total, more than 5,000 people have already completed training across all programmes since the university was established. Last year, 26 veterans began working on their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university. These include employees from Metinvest’s enterprises and defenders of Mariupol.
In 2025, the university plans to increase the proportion of external students from 20% to 40%. To achieve this, the university will cooperate more actively with businesses to develop tailored groups and has already introduced a new management structure to strengthen its commercial operations.
Among the benefits of studying at Metinvest Polytechnic are business-relevant specialisations, practice-oriented education, programmes for veterans, international internships, a flexible study schedule, digitalisation and access to online platforms, as well as scholarship and grant programmes and partnerships with foreign universities.
In addition to contractual higher education, there is the opportunity to study on a scholarship from Metinvest, which allows students to receive education at the Group’s expense without spending their own money. Metinvest covers tuition fees for its employees and their children, as well as for students who are willing to work at the Group’s production facilities during and after their studies. Currently, Metinvest’s industrial enterprises have approximately 3,500 vacancies and the Group is ready to hire all interested candidates.
Amid the war, pursuing a higher engineering education takes on a special meaning for Ukraine. Students from Metinvest Polytechnic will become the driving force behind the country’s restoration and the primary architects of the modernisation of the country’s domestic industry.
