The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is launching a new direction "DECIDE: PROFTECH" to support the reform of vocational education in Ukraine, which will unite the efforts of regional state administrations and territorial communities, vocational and technical education institutions, schools and businesses to build a career guidance system and increase the prestige of professional education.

Switzerland is allocating 2 million francs (over 80 million hryvnias) for the reform of the vocational training institute in Ukraine.

"Professional education reform is a priority of the government of Ukraine. Proof of this is the investment in the field, which does not stop even in the conditions of a full-scale war. In the period of post-war reconstruction, we will need a lot of skilled workers with modern knowledge and skills. But it is necessary to take care of the satisfaction of these needs now. I thank Switzerland for supporting the reform of professional education, expanding the DECIDE project to a new direction dedicated to professional education. I am confident that the allocated resources will be a good basis for the recovery of the Ukrainian economy and the reconstruction of the infrastructure," said Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Dmytro Zavhorodnii.

The DECIDE project will provide expert and technical support to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for the implementation of vocational education reform at the national level, in particular:

• transfer of vocational and technical education institutions from state to communal ownership;
• development of the system of educational and methodical centers of P(PT)O;
• improvement of the regulatory framework to ensure the effective implementation of the professional education reform;
• development of a new model of formation of regional networks of ZP(PT)O.

"For the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, it is extremely important to have trained specialists in labor professions. In Switzerland, for example, 75% of students choose vocational education. In order to raise the prestige of professional education in Ukraine, it is necessary to radically change not only the educational infrastructure, the content of education, but also to build an effective career guidance system," said Andreas Huber, director of the cooperation program of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

Within the framework of the initiative, there will be piloting of models of cooperation of regional state administrations, territorial communities, vocational and technical education institutions, schools and businesses for the development of the career support system for students, in particular:

• Poltava, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Kyiv, and Lviv regions were selected as partner regions that will participate in the piloting of the system;
• 10 ZP(PT)O and 10 partner communities will be identified in the partner regions;
• each of the selected professional technicians will receive support for the development of development strategies and a grant for the creation of a career guidance workshop (hub), as well as join professional development programs and expert support in the development of cooperation with business;
• partner communities will receive a grant and expert support for the organization of career guidance events, will involve their specialists in professional programs for training career counselors;
• the ZZSO of partner communities will introduce a system of accompanying students in choosing a profession (career guidance) in cooperation with leading Ukrainian experts and specialists of the Zurich Pedagogical University (Switzerland)

"In order for students and their parents to be able to find their way in choosing a future profession, it is important to establish cooperation between the authorities of the region and territorial communities, businesses, schools and professional technical schools. All this is in order to build a connection between education and the labor market and to give children in Ukraine the opportunity to acquire modern and necessary professions and see the future in their country," DECIDE project manager Valentina Poltorak emphasizes.

Piloting of the career support system will take place until the end of 2024.

The DECIDE project is implemented by the GO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education

with support Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine / Посольство Швейцарії в Україні.

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