Dnipro, 11 October 2023 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with financial support from the European Union and the Government of Germany, has created a series of professional courses and apprenticeships. Nearly 400 individuals from the Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, and Poltava regions have successfully completed these courses.

These training sessions cover 19 of the most in-demand professions, including plumbers, cooks, tailors, and electric welders. These professions were selected based on the immediate requirements of the Ukrainian job market and local enterprises.  Often, these businesses face a shortage of skilled professionals, hampering their ability to fully operate, especially amid wartime conditions.

Martin Jäger, the German Ambassador to Ukraine, noted it is extremely important to develop vocational and technical education in Ukraine because it stimulates economic opportunities for various segments of the population in Ukraine. “Comprehensive training with subsequent internships and employment is a new and effective recruitment mechanism,” he said. “It is not yet widespread in Ukraine but shows positive results.”

Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said that the ability of Ukrainian businesses to quickly adapt to new conditions helped to keep Ukraine's economy afloat and prevent it from plunging into crisis. “These types of professional courses are effective for training new personnel in the conditions of war, and in the long run will help Ukraine’s economy to stabilize and recover,” he remarked.

The training and apprenticeship consisted of theoretical and practical parts and was conducted through 25 vocational and technical education institutions. Sixty mentors and more than 50 local businesses joined forces to train new professionals for further employment. At least 75 percent of those participating find full time employment after completing the courses.

Jaco Cilliers, UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine, said UNDP continues to support the labour market and economic development in Ukraine. “The comprehensive training and internship programmes, as well as the subsequent employment, are the result of systematic interaction between UNDP, local entrepreneurs and vocational and technical education institutions,” he said. “As a result, almost 400 people now have new specialties, and most of them have found employment. We are very glad that we were able to contribute to this."

Background: The short-term courses were organized in cooperation with educational and methodological centres for vocational and technical education and departments of education and science, with the assistance of UNDP in Ukraine and with financial support from the European Union and the Government of Germany. They were provided within the framework of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme.

Media inquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org