Support and Employment of Veterans and Their Families

The question of how to effectively integrate veterans into civilian life and ensure their employment cannot wait until the end of hostilities. According to estimates by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, there are already more than one million people with military experience in Ukraine. And after the war ends, their number could grow to 5-6 million. At the same time, 70% of veterans had official employment before mobilisation, and more than half will need employment after returning to civilian life. 

Employees involved in the creation of Arterium products also stood up to defend their country: 58 colleagues are still in the army, and 13 veterans have already returned to civilian work at the company. Arterium supports and awaits the return of its employees and is open to employing other veterans. 

Before hiring people with military experience, we decided to systematise, supplement and formalise all the proposals that the company will provide for the integration of veterans into the working environment. This led to the decision to implement a veteran programme that will focus on the different needs not only of mobilised and demobilised colleagues, but also their families and employees whose relatives are military personnel. “We can work and develop our business only because our army is defending us. And caring for defenders and veterans is our moral duty. Previously, companies did not have such experience, as there were fewer veterans, but today it is time to move from individual initiatives to comprehensive, systematic, and in-depth support. And this support must begin at the mobilisation stage and apply not only to the defender, but also to his or her family,” says Olga Tsapro, Director of Human Resources at Arterium. 

Preparing for change

Background

Arterium took its first steps in shaping its veteran policy back in 2014, when our employees began joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, the company made a fundamental decision: to keep the jobs and salaries of military personnel and to support their families.

With the start of the full-scale invasion, the number of employees who stood up to defend the country increased significantly. This showed that isolated actions were no longer enough – a systematic, comprehensive programme to support military personnel, veterans and their families was needed. 

We decided that the Arterium veteran programme would be based on the sustainable development goals of ‘Decent Work’ and ‘Good Health and Well-being.’ Its purpose is to care for those who are currently serving, help those who are returning, and support the families of our defenders.

The programme covers several areas, from mental and physical support to creating comfortable working conditions and opportunities for professional development after service.

The Human Resources and Occupational Safety Department plays a key role in implementing and evaluating the programme’s effectiveness. In 2023, a new position was created within the department: veteran relations specialist. This person is the heart of communication between the company, veterans, their families, as well as demobilised employees, employees whose loved ones are serving, and the families of deceased employees.  

Implementation of the veteran programme at Arterium

We began preparations for the implementation of the ‘Caring for You’ programme by training HR specialists and conducting an in-depth analysis of the needs of military personnel, mobilised employees, veterans and their families, both within and outside the company.

To this end, the team held more than 10 consultations with demobilised colleagues, psychologists and representatives of veteran communities to understand what support they need before, during and after service.

The professional expertise of our partners – the Veteran Hub Charitable Foundation and the Kruk Centre – formed the basis for the programme. In 2024, we signed memoranda of cooperation with them. Their experience helped to systematise all the support opportunities available within the company and create the first (of four in the programme) guide for veterans, developed in collaboration with Viktor Komarenko, a psychological officer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The next step was to train managers and employees. Ten training sessions were held with the participation of psychologists and veterans, which were attended by 70% of managers and 50% of the company’s employees on the following topics:

• communication between military personnel and civilians (lecturer – veteran Andriy Golopapa);
• how managers can support the mental health of their team and themselves (lecturer – military psychologist Olena Nikolskaya);
• the psychology of long-term crisis;
• inclusive communication, etc.   

In 2024, we combined all events and activities related to veterans, mobilised colleagues and their families, and launched the ‘Caring for You’ programme in our company, which includes internal projects and external initiatives.

Within the company, the programme is aimed at caring for four groups of people: mobilised employees, their families, demobilised employees, and employees who have family members in the military.

A separate guide was developed for each group with a list of offers that the company can provide.

1. The offer for demobilised employees includes additional leave and a flexible schedule, a reduced working week for the first three months, one additional salary upon returning to work, payment for sports activities at city sports clubs, additional insurance, additional leave, and the opportunity to relax at a health resort with their family. 
2. We keep the jobs and salaries of our mobilised colleagues, provide them with medicines and first aid kits, give them info support for fundraising and meeting their current needs, and wish them happy holidays (at Easter, Christmas and other holidays, our mobilised employees receive parcels from the company with cards, medicines and essential items).We always keep in touch, including for closing individual requests.
3.   Relatives of mobilised persons have the opportunity to undergo medical examinations and receive medication. Children of veterans can receive a grant for studying at a higher education institution, as well as undergo training in the pharmaceutical field at the company’s premises.
4.   Employees whose relatives are military personnel can receive medication, informational support for meetings, and participate in various activities (art therapy, psychological training, support groups, etc.).

As part of the ‘Caring for You’ programme, the company provides all four groups with free psychological (unlimited sessions on the Rozmova platform) and legal assistance.

The company also keeps in touch with the families of our deceased colleagues, providing them with assistance as needed, such as medication, medical examinations, etc. 

All the opportunities that the company offers to mobilised and demobilised employees and their families, as well as employees whose loved ones are serving, are listed in the guide.  

Thanks to an individual approach and support for each veteran, only 20% of demobilised employees who returned to the company (2024-2025) resigned, mostly due to personal circumstances (moving to another city, etc.).

The power of memory: developing a memorialisation concept 

 In 2024, we at Arterium began developing a concept for memorialising and honouring company employees who died as a result of the war, both military and civilian.  

Honouring the memory of the deceased:

• a memorial website with information about the deceased employees was created
• memorial trees were planted on the company’s premises and in the Fomin Botanical Garden (Kyiv).
• a video was created featuring colleagues’ memories of deceased employees.

Throughout 2025, we continued to provide support to all categories covered by the ‘Caring for You’ programme. Over 90 requests have already been processed this year. 

Defenders are returning to the company and want to be useful beyond their functional duties. We are happy to support the partnership adaptation of veterans and help them implement their initiatives. A striking example of such cooperation is the initiative of our colleague, combat medic veteran Taras Karpovets. After returning to civilian work at the company, Taras decided to share his experience and knowledge of tactical medicine with his colleagues. “My first serious injury was not in war, but in peaceful Kyiv, when a motorcyclist was knocked down right in front of me. Most people stood around and did not know what to do with him because he was not breathing. An emergency can happen anywhere, and basic knowledge of first aid can be useful to anyone. A life may depend on whether someone with such skills is nearby. That is why I decided to systematically teach my colleagues tactical medicine so that everyone would know what to do,” says Taras Karpovets. In two years, nearly 100 company employees have undergone Taras’ training.

We welcome all our veterans and find an individual approach for each one, taking into account all their needs. If an employee’s previous job is not suitable for their health condition, we find another one and train them. For example, a veteran who returned from service with one kidney was unable to perform the same duties as before mobilisation. The company worked with the veteran to find a new position, organised an adaptation period and training, and now our colleague continues to work in his new position. We decided to focus this experience not only on the company’s veterans. Arterium was one of the first to join the development of training courses for veterans on the platform.kurs, created on the initiative of the Kruk organisation. This is an online training platform where veterans meet with employers in order to learn a new profession for employment. Currently, there are two original courses from Arterium on the platform, and after completing them, candidates are invited for an interview. 

Changing ourselves and helping others change: external programme initiatives

Our specialists are happy to participate in initiatives to exchange experience with other companies.

Arterium shared its experience of reintegrating veterans in the Praktyka podcast from VeteranHab. Together with Oleksiy Prytula, a veteran who returned to civilian work as a veterinarian after being wounded, we discussed the specifics of employment in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

We actively participated in training sessions organised by various organisations that have in-depth expertise in veteran issues and complement our internal resources. Since 2024, Arterium experts have been conducting training sessions themselves, for example, for medical staff and prosthetists at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre.

On 30 July 2024, the company received the ‘Veteran Friendly’ award from Veteran Hub. This award is given to companies that have successfully implemented and adapted veteran-friendly work processes. The organisation conducts checks on companies and sends a ‘secret candidate’ – a veteran – to interview and evaluate the company according to criteria such as active recruitment of veterans, respect for veteran experience, workplace adaptation, etc. After successfully passing all stages of the check, Arterium received the award. 

The Arterium veteran programme is an open support system that is being improved and changed along with the experience of those who return from the front and want to feel alive again. Today, it works exactly like this, but if tomorrow the defenders have a new need, we will listen. 

We believe that only through the joint efforts of business, government, society, and veterans themselves can a new culture of employment be formed – a culture that always puts people at its centre.