Laba Group

Education
Kyiv
Verified
Space of smart people

Laba Group is a Ukrainian EdTech company that has been proving since 2015 that with up-to-date and systematic knowledge, you can quickly grow in your profession. And the Laba Group team helps to get this knowledge.

Laba Group
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8+ years in the market
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800+ employees
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1office in Kyiv
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8offices in other countries
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1000+courses
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154 K+students

What if we told you that you could learn only things you need for the job, use the skills you get right away, and grow your career thanks to insights from experts?

The team of the future Laba Group had started with offline lectures on business and lifestyle. But then they saw the demand for professional training and went online to make their courses available to everyone. 

Laba developed successfully and became one of the top business education platforms in Ukraine over time. In 2019, SKVOT appeared — an online school for representatives of the creative sphere. In 2020, IT courses robot_dreams were launched, as well as ELVTR — a platform that is focused on the US, Canadian and Australian markets with courses on business, IT, and the creative industry. The youngest project for learning English by professional spheres — Vocabulaba started in 2023.

The first branch of the company in Europe was opened in 2020 in Hungary. Laba Group currently has representative offices in the USA, Great Britain, Poland, Turkey, Romania (under the Skillab brand), the Czech Republic, and Germany. By 2025, the company plans to  add seven more countries to this list. Laba also plans to become a unicorn company in the field of online education and announce itself to the whole world.

Laba Group creates quality opportunities for professional growth of all students, except those who support the Russian-Ukrainian war. Laba Group lecturers include specialists from Google, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, IBM, Kyivstar, METRO, and other well-known companies. To make the learning process comfortable for foreign audiences, the company does not translate lectures recorded in Ukraine for foreign markets but creates a completely new educational product with local experts and local teams.

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You can choose an office in Podil or remote work

Laba Group's Kyiv office is located in a three-story building in Podil near the Kontraktova Ploshcha metro station. It has large open spaces, separate offices, and meeting rooms. Employees can choose where they want to work. The office also has a recreation room with a tennis table and game console, as well as a kitchen with the appliances for coffee breaks and various goodies.

There is a separate parking lot for company employees near the office. In addition, the building has two courtyards where the company held mini-parties before the full-scale war. Recently, the team began to restore the tradition of celebrations but added a volunteer component to them. They organize auctions, charity fairs and gatherings here. Having the experience of working during a blackout, Laba Group made sure that there was always light and uninterrupted access to the Internet in the office. So, the office is prepared for power outages.

It is the employees’ choice to work in the office or not. You can be on-site every day, work from home, live in another city or country, relocate to the foreign units or work fully remotely. The employees can also work at a time convenient for them. However, the Customer Support Service and Sales Departments work during fixed business hours. The main demand is to complete all planned tasks on time and demonstrate high results. 

Upon request, specialists are provided with all the necessary equipment. Furthermore, those who have worked in the company for a year are allocated funds for the purchase of a personal laptop. In Laba Group's European branches, teams mostly work in offices, so their food and transportation expenses are reimbursed. In Ukraine, most employees work remotely, so there is no such option.

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Free access to all courses, unlimited vacation and more

After the trial period (which lasts three months), the company provides access to various benefits. The first one is free courses in all Laba Group schools.

After six months, the company compensates the cost of:

  • sports activities;
  • English lessons;
  • physical and mental health care;
  • external courses and programs for professional development.

Also, if a person has worked in Laba Group for more than half a year, they can take unlimited paid vacation. However, the employees need to get approval from a Team Lead or Department Head. Sick leave is also unlimited and available from the first working day. The company trusts its employees, so it does not require any certificates.

I was working as a Direct Manager in Laba while I was finishing my bachelor's degree in advertising. I was interested in this field, but I did not have enough practical skills to start my career. At the same time, I noticed the course “Copywriting in Advertising” in SKVOT. I applied for the course to find my feet and develop a portfolio. And in addition, I gained an understanding of the challenges behind the profession of a creative copywriter. I understood that I have to work hard to become a talented creative copywriter.

After studying, my fear of a blank piece of paper disappeared. I became confident and began using my knowledge at work. Later, I got an internship as a Creative Copywriter in Laba. Then, I got a full-time job. I still use some life hacks from the course.

Katya Radzvilyuk
Katia Radzyviliuk,
Creative Copywriter | Laba

Values and rules of interaction in a team

 

 

Laba employees have different temperaments and skills, but we have one thing in common — incredible drive and love for our work.

 We can talk for a long time about how Laba employees live and communicate with each other, but we single out five main values that aptly describe our work routine.

YUlya Klasen
Yulia Klassen,
HRBP Lead | Laba Global
  1. Do “wow", "ok" is not appropriate. Be able to rejoice in success, but know that you can do even better.
  2. Analyse. Doubt. Decide. Calculate the risks and consequences in advance, focus on the result for the company, find solutions by yourself and take responsibility for them.
  3. Do not stop. Do better today than yesterday. Take risks and be curious.
  4. Speak. Offer. Implement. Don't be silent when someone does something wrong. Give objective feedback. Don't be afraid to talk about problems that arise during work.
  5. Be a part of a team. Do not divide the areas of responsibility. Be involved in processes where you can help.

Laba employees are ambitious, mentally mature people who strive to develop themselves and develop others. They are not afraid to share bold ideas, take the initiative, and go beyond their professional duties.

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Equality, diversity and inclusion

All Laba Group employees have equal rights and conditions for development. There is no discrimination based on race, appearance, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, social status, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression either by management or team members.

All decisions related to salary, benefits, grievances, lay-offs, downsizing, parental leave, flexible work requests, employment selection, and promotion are made following applicable law and are based on individual merit.

Laba Group's non-discrimination policy applies not only to employees but also to customers. The company treats all students equally and respects the individuality of each one. In addition, the company's schools have courses that promote equality, diversity, and inclusion, for example Black Leaders, Women in Leadership, and Workplace diversity, equality, and inclusion.

The only exceptions to these rules are russians and belarusians. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Laba Group does not hire citizens of these countries, does not sell its courses on their territories, and does not cooperate with businesses that sponsor the genocide of the Ukrainians.

Laba Group employees determine the direction of their development on their own

Grow vertically: strengthen professional skills from junior to middle and senior positions, and then become Team Lead or Department Head. Most of the current Department Heads of the company have had such a career path.

If employees want to try themselves in different roles or even radically change the sphere of work, they are always welcome. Laba Group has people who have worked in many departments in different positions, so they have a unique set of skills and are oriented in as many different company processes as possible.

I have been working in the Laba Group since 2017. I started my career in the Sales Department. However, I strived to develop in the field of marketing. So, I started doing targeted advertising. I got to know and worked with many digital tools within first year. In a few years, I became the Team Leader of the Lead Generation team. Later, I got the position of Head of Marketing. I had to work on Ukrainian projects. In January 2021, I started building a marketing department from scratch and working on foreign projects.

I do what I like. I am really good at it. I think the fact that I love my job has contributed to my career development. Also, the company has all the conditions to realize your potential, but you need to be very proactive, hardworking, and stable in terms of results. In the future, I would like to focus on the implementation of my marketing ideas and team development. I believe I have all the resources for it.

Artem Tovstenko
Artem Tovstenko,
Head of Marketing | Laba Global

Corporate parties and chill out — with an adjustment for reality

Laba Group has always celebrated its birthday loudly. Every year in August, the company organized a grand party for colleagues from different cities and countries. There were parties by the pool, camping in the forest, and exciting quests. There were also New Year corporate parties. The company usually rented a venue where the whole Laba team could have fun.

Various corporate and team-building events were also held for individual departments or teams. It helped bring people together and teach them something new. There were also small team traditions such as soulful wine Fridays and lotteries, where everyone could win bonuses such as dinner at a restaurant or plane tickets.

After the beginning of full-scale invasion, the company put all celebrations on hold and focused on donating to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Recently, teams began to restore their gatherings and corporate traditions, taking into account modern realities. They can meet for  book club or board game evenings. The company organises open webinars, auctions and raises funds to support the army. In addition, Laba Group team already has many ideas for corporate events that will definitely be held after the victory.

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Before the full-scale war, our company held corporate events and parties regularly. Nowadays, it is impossible to meet in person and have parties. However, we are looking forward to meeting again and having fun together. Laba teams often gather at someone's home, office, or cafe to play board games, drink a glass of wine or just talk about life.

By the way, a lot of people met each other offline for the first time because of the full-scale invasion. Because we all were coordinated, went to safe places together, and even lived in the same apartment or hotel 😅 These circumstances united us. We supported each other with deeds and memes.

YUlya Klasen
Yulia Klassen,
HRBP Lead | Laba Global

Charitable projects to support Ukrainian businesses and Security and Defence Forces of Ukraine

Since February 24, 2022, Laba Group focused not only on supporting Ukrainian business. The company implemented several charitable projects and initiatives that helped raise more than 15 million hryvnias for the defence forces and humanitarian needs of Ukraine.

“Business in conditions of war” is a series of free lectures where managers, financiers, marketers, sales, and HR specialists of international and Ukrainian companies share anti-crisis tools and advice. Everyone can listen to the lectures and donate some money to the KOLO charity foundation.

The goal of our courses has always been to meet business needs by obtaining effective tools for scaling and developing new skills among specialists. However, when a full-scale war began, every business felt the need to "survive". That’s why we came up with the idea to conduct a series of lectures "Business in the conditions of war" on all aspects of work during the war: finances, care of employees, marketing, communications, sales, etc.

There were two main goals of the project. The first goal was to support our target audience and continue communication. The second was to make different educational products that would be free for everyone. We thought about fundraising later and really didn't want to speculate on it. Therefore, donations from listeners were arbitrary and voluntary.

Nadya Zavyalova
Nadia Zavialova,
CEO | Laba, Skvot, r_d, Vocabulaba (Ukraine)

"Level up your CV for a donation to the Armed Forces of Ukraine" is a project designed to help candidates improve their CVs and get their dream job. Representatives of various professions could receive feedback on their CVs and advice from the Laba Group HR team. In order to take part in the project, the candidates needed to make a voluntary donation to the Come Back Alive Foundation.

Our mission is to help businesses and professionals grow, acquire skills, and become more in demand in the labor market. Nowadays, we continue doing it but with adaptation to new realities. That's why we launched the project "Level up your CV for a donation to the Armed Forces of Ukraine". We told everyone how to update, design, and get a CV shortlisted for the dream company and speed up the victory.

Together with the Come Back Alive Foundation, we collected funds to support the Ukrainian army. After receiving feedback on the CV from our team, you could donate some money. Our team of recruiters checked 338 CVs. It means that 338 people received feedback on updating their CVs and more than 75 thousand hryvnias were collected for our army.

Losha Negreyev
Oleksii Nehreiev,
Talent Acquisition Business Partner | Laba Global

In the summer, the school of IT professions robot_dreams held the first open conference STRUM. And in the autumn the company organized Lastivka — an online conference with Skvot and top Creative Specialists from the USA, Japan, Ukraine, South Korea, and Great Britain.

Advertising is one of the most important areas of Skvot. We have many students and lecturers from the field of advertising. However, the creative market is very vulnerable and is the first to be hit during crises. Since we love Ukrainian Creative Specialists very much, we wanted to support them and help them find new clients while Ukrainian companies cannot spend money on creativity. Lastivka was supposed to unite creative people from all over the world to show how advertising works abroad. We also wished to inspire Ukrainian specialists not to doubt their own abilities and enter foreign markets.

I think we succeeded. The speakers shared their contacts with the listeners in order to get in touch with Ukrainian agencies. Some of them were even ready to offer work in their companies. We received great feedback. The students who were inspired by Lastivka still apply for our courses.

Tanya ZHezherun
Tania Zhezherun,
Head of Course Production | Laba Global

Laba Group regularly transfers funds to the needs of the Defence Forces of Ukraine, and also helps employees and their relatives who have joined the armed forces. As an EdTech company, Laba Group also supports military and veterans by providing them with competencies: they can study at Laba, SKVOT and robot_dreams courses on preferential terms.

Read more about support and implemented projects at the link.

Caring for employees during wartime

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, team safety was Laba Group's top priority. The company created a coordination headquarters where everyone could submit a request. It also prepared a place for relocation in Chernivtsi where everyone could live for a certain time or stop on the way abroad. Employees who lived on the occupied territories were helped with the evacuation. The company contacted volunteers, looked for transport, and provided moral and material support.

Some time after February 24th online education in Ukraine was irrelevant, because basic needs, in particular security, came to the fore. Therefore, all Laba Group schools had to stop almost all activities for a while. Until the business in Ukraine started working again, foreign branches supported the Ukrainian team. Employees from Poland, Hungary, and Romania helped colleagues from Ukraine with relocation, offered work in their offices, looked for accommodation, and shared tips on comfortable adaptation.

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The company continued to pay salaries to all specialists. In order to help employees recover emotionally, the HR team organized lectures with psychologists on how to cope with stress, prevent burnout, maintain war-life balance, etc. Also everyone could attend first aid training.

How does the company select candidates and onboard newcomers?

It will be difficult to work in the Laba Group team for people who:

  • are used to transferring responsibility to others;
  • do not accept feedback and objective criticism;
  • do not know how to work in a team;
  • do not believe in themselves, usually say: "I won't succeed" (even before they try);
  • perceive work as a place where they have to spend time from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.;
  • look at the task superficially, instead of thinking structurally;
  • plot and gossip;
  • make the same mistakes several times;
  • adapt to changes with difficulties;
  • need constant reminders about tasks and motivation to act.

If you share the company's values and like the prospect of working in the field of EdTech — apply for the desired vacancy and prepare for the following stages of hiring:

  1. An interview with recruiters, who assess motivation, soft skills, and compliance with the company's culture. And also tell you everything about the processes and answer the questions.
  2. Test task (for creative positions). It is offered only to those who have passed the first stages of the interview and meet the general requirements of the company.
  3. An interview with the Team Leader or Head of the Department in which you will work. At this stage, the candidate's hard skills are evaluated, and specific duties and prospects for the person's development in the company are discussed.

After receiving an offer and signing all documents, the process of adapting to the team begins. The experienced employees of the company help newcomers to understand all the work processes, send the necessary instructions and materials, introduce him/her to the team, and organize one-to-one meetings to discuss current successes and failures.

The trial period is three months for any position, but if the person shares the company's values 100% and does a great job, it can be terminated earlier.

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My motivation to apply for a job in Laba Group was my previous experience of being rejected by the company. After three years since then, I wanted to check how much I leveled up and developed myself and whether I would be able to pass the candidate selection this time.

At the group interview for the position of Producer, the HR, the CEO of Laba Group, and the General Producer spoke sincerely, frankly, and excitingly about the company and its plans for the next five years. Then, all candidates received a test that had to be presented in 5-7 minutes in the presence of competitors. As I later understood, the test was a demo version of what the producer does each day at work. It was super interesting for me. It was also a nerve-wracking and exciting game or a challenge at the same time. However, I felt I was successful and in the right place throughout the entire selection process. Today, I work and live with this feeling.

Alina Taratun
Alina Taratun,
Head of Production | Skvot

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