A Ukrainian mum has become one of the first refugees to find work in the UK as she started her job as a beautician - and her boss is already singing her praises. Valeriia Starkova, 37, fled the war-torn city of Kharkiv with her family to move into a house in Cambridgeshire last month.
Now she has become one of the first Ukrainian refugees to find a job since arriving in the UK. Mum-of-two Valeriia, started her new position as a nail technician at a beauty salon in Cambridge this week.
Valeriia, who has two kids called Alikhan, 10, and Kamila, 12, and worked the same role in Ukraine, said: "It feels fantastic. I haven't been working for two months so I've been waiting for this day for quite a long time.
"I was hoping that I would get the job I love. I was nervous that I wouldn't understand clients and what they want but after I finished the course here I saw that it's quite similar and the clients are actually really nice and they help me a lot.
"The hardest part was doing my CV. It took me two or three days but without a CV you can't find a job obviously. Of course I miss my home. I miss everything I had there. I had all my life out there.
"I miss my husband as well. He's in another country right now and he's waiting for his visa to come. The kids haven't seen him for quite a long time.
"It's hard. All my life out there [in Ukraine] and I just left everything."
Valeriia is living with nine Ukrainian relatives at a property offered to them rent-free by local businessman Mick Swinhoe, who sponsored the family's visa application. The four generational family - ranging in age from ten to 90 - drove for three weeks through 13 countries to arrive in the UK at the end of March.
Her new boss Charlotte Liddiard, who opened CSL salon in Cambridge last April, said that her new recruit's application "stood out". She explained: "She sent a covering letter with her CV explaining her passion for the job. It just felt like the right thing. I saw her work on her Instagram page and it was fantastic."
Charlotte said that Valeriia's background - having fled bombarded Ukraine with her family - cemented the decision to hire her. She said: "Obviously it's nice to help. You have empathy with what's going on. It's just nice to be able to help and do something otherwise you feel pretty helpless.
"It might be a little thing for me but it's a big thing for her. She's got kids and a family - you imagine yourself in that position."
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
