The Ukrainian labor market is facing a severe shortage of qualified technical personnel. The sphere of professional training is forced to respond to these economic challenges with deep modernization. Within the framework of the project “What about education”, experts in Ukrainian professional education discussed the transition from outdated norms to a pragmatic model of cooperation between educational institutions and businesses.
Flexibility of the Private Sector and Rapid Retraining
Private educational centers are betting on the speed of adaptation to economic realities. Yuliia Ohilets, the head of the partnership department at KSE ProfTech, notes that the status of a private institution gives freedom of action.
“The private sector allows us to be more flexible, i.e., we are not forced to adapt to all state-regulated processes,” she explains.
The priority of KSE ProfTech is the retraining of the adult population, which requires quick results. Training programs last from one to six weeks, and the financial costs are fully borne by the business in case of employment of the graduate. The requirements of employers are becoming increasingly stringent due to the shortage of workers.
“For the country, this is very long, and for some businesses, it is already critical,” the expert emphasizes, commenting on the classic training terms. “We have courses for 6 weeks, and even 6 weeks, some businesses declare that it can be even faster”.
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Scale of Communal Institutions and Early Career Guidance
Communal institutions have a wide regional network and cover a large audience of teenagers. Maxim Podzhariy, the director of the Chernihiv Professional Railway Transport Lyceum, believes that career guidance is a key tool for interacting with future professionals and enterprises. Modern hubs allow schoolchildren to test different specialties, independently assembling solar panels or water purification systems. “Business is waiting, often it happens that a direct graduate is ready,” the director says. Early career guidance gives companies the opportunity to attract personnel even at the stage of training. The personal experience of the director also shapes his approaches to the educational process.
“What inspires me is what professional education has given me, because, in fact, in school, my talents were not noticed, they were revealed in professional education,” he shares.
Legislative Changes as a Tool for Modernization
Changes to the legislation on professional education expand opportunities for both sectors. The document legalizes the creation of new qualification centers, allows the formation of small training groups, and integrates representatives of businesses into supervisory boards. Maxim Podzhariy positively assesses these shifts.
“The law on professional education opens up new opportunities. In fact, I have been dreaming of and waiting for this law,” the director of the lyceum asserts.
State institutions receive the status of non-profit organizations, which opens the way to providing paid services. The renaming of institutions to professional colleges contributes to the visual and substantive renewal of the system. However, there are also problems. According to Maxim, it is always necessary to take care of the image of such an enterprise, because it is easy to harm people, but it is more difficult to fix it.
Practical Skills as an Advantage in the Labor Market
Technical skills guarantee a quick career start and financial independence. University education forms a worldview, but the ability to work with one’s hands ensures employment in the conditions of infrastructure reconstruction. Yuliia Ohilets emphasizes the high efficiency of modern worker training.
“We do not just transmit education for the sake of education. We have a direct, very clear connection between education and work,” she states.
Maxim Podzhariy supplements this thought with the importance of acquiring practical experience.
“If you want to engage in your favorite activity, it’s worth trying to choose a craft for yourself first,” he advises. Mastering a profession becomes a strong support for a specialist in any economic situation.
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