Kyiv, 5 July 2022 – The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, together with the Binance Blockchain Ecosystem and the Lviv IT Cluster, has launched the national IT Generation project. The project aims to enable Ukrainians to get an IT profession free of charge. The pilot stage of the project was presented on 29 June in Kyiv. 

Schools will be able to apply in July, while students’ applications will be accepted from August. The project is expected to provide 60,000 Ukrainians with a high-quality and free-of-charge IT education. 

Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said: “We understand that education and the opportunity to obtain a new profession are extremely important in the current circumstances. Today we’re launching a pilot project for the IT Generation project. It will form the basis of the full-scale national IT Generation project, which will be launched in the near future.”

“This way, we will be able to solve the personnel problem in IT, which will allow the industry to develop faster. At the same time, IT Generation will give people who lost their jobs due to the war the opportunity to find themselves in a new and promising field.” 

The training will last from two to six months. Participants will be able to study: Blockchain Development, FrontEnd, QA, JavaScript, Python, Java, as well as the following non-technical disciplines: project\product management, UX/UI design, digital marketing, business analysis, and HR.  

The project is designed for Ukrainians aged 21 to 60 who are not receiving a formal education, and who have no qualification and experience in IT. Participants are also recommended to have the B1 (intermediate) English proficiency level.  

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine Tobias Thyberg stressed that support to Ukrainian people in times of war is important for Sweden, and the IT Generation project will be of great help – especially for those Ukrainians that have been affected by the fighting.

“Learning new skills and obtaining a new profession in IT will give tens of thousands of Ukrainians an opportunity to regain livelihoods,” he said. “Sweden has been supporting Ukraine’s economic recovery, and IT industry specifically is one of the most promising strategic industries to lead this process.”

UNDP Ukraine Resident Representative, a.i., Manal Fouani underlined that Ukraine is building the generation of the future today. She said the project would secure new livelihoods sources and help thousands of Ukrainians gain a new competitive profession, which is vital in times of war. 

“The IT Generation project will be an important step in achieving the ambitious goal set by the government to develop the IT sphere and increase its share in the national economy,” she said.

“It will prepare the youth of today to tackle the challenges of tomorrow by acquiring new knowledge and skills that are in demand on the labour market. The development of the digital skills of Ukrainians for advanced solutions is among the priorities of UNDP and Sweden. We remain committed to supporting the government in making progress in this direction with our partners at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.” 

The project is being implemented with support from the USAID Competitive Economy Programme and the Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of Public Services in Ukraine Project, which is being implemented by UNDP in Ukraine with financial support from Sweden.  

Media inquiries:

Yuliia Samus, Communications Team Leader, UNDP in Ukraine, Yuliia.Samus@undp.org