On 2 October, we celebrate a day dedicated to those shaping the future of Ukraine’s economy and labour market: vocational education institutions, their teachers, and their students.

Vocational education is about more than just knowledge and skills. It is a path to self-fulfilment, decent employment, and to the development of communities and the country as a whole. Here, a new generation of craftsmen, technologists, and specialists is being formed who demonstrate daily that it is practical skills that drive change.

The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project fosters the development of vocational education, providing young people with more training and employment opportunities at home, in their own region.

Over the past two years, we have assisted the Government in drafting a new Law of Ukraine ‘On Vocational Education’ and are working on developing a new system for financing vocational colleges.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, we are developing a new career guidance system that focuses on blue-collar professions.

We are establishing career guidance hubs in vocational schools and assisting them in drafting their development strategies and in cooperating with businesses to encourage young people to pursue professional careers.

We would like to thank the teachers, masters and school administrators who are modernising vocational education, as well as the businesses, communities, regions and state bodies that are helping to make it high-quality and in demand!

Together, we are building an education system that empowers people to change their lives and their country!

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