ACCOUNTANCY businesses are being urged to give a 12-week placement to a Ukrainian professional which could then turn into a permanent job.

The idea was devised by Bournemouth accountant Nick Hixson, working with an employment agency, and has won support from relationship managers for the accounting software package QuickBooks.

He hopes more firms in Dorset and Hampshire will follow his example and end up taking on a permanent member of staff from Ukraine.

Mr Hixson got involved through an ethical employment agency, Real Jobs, which was looking for work for Olena But, a Ukrainian accountant moving to London.

He gave her a three-month placement before taking her on.

“She has a masters in accounting, she’s got 10 years’ experience, she used to run an iron foundry in Kryvyi, where President Zelensky is from. Zelensky’s father taught her computer science,” he said.

“They had to close the foundry because there’s no bomb shelter there and a foundry has to run 24/7, so everybody left and most of them went to war.

“She’s really good. We got her into bookkeeping, we got her into QuickBooks, the largest accounting program in the country. She picked it up really quickly. Her bookkeeping’s good and Google Translate is great so she’s getting out sensible emails to people quite quickly. We’ve now got her into year-end and financial modelling and all sorts of stuff.”

He got together with Tom Ward, managing director of Real Jobs, to turn the experience into a model for other firms.

“There’s a need out there for accountancy practices to get good quality people and these people, if they’re like her, are spectacularly well-qualified for entry level work. They’ll be relatively cheap for an accountancy practice and we’re doing a bit of good as well,” he said.

Ukrainian accountants will work through the employment agency for the initial 12 weeks, with the agency adding £2 an hour, “which is lower than their normal mark-up”.

At the end of the 12 weeks, both parties can agree to a permanent job, with no placement fee due.

Several relationship managers at QuickBooks are already behind the idea, he said.

Mr Hixson said the entry level positions paid as well as people were used to as chief accountants in Ukraine. Ukraine has an unemployment rate of 35 per cent, even with most men of fighting age serving in the forces.

“I’ve spoken one way or another to 27 practices, of which seven have expressed a thorough interest. It’s a small sample but a pretty good hit rate though,” said Mr Hixson.

Businesses can find out more by emailing tom@myrealjobs.org