On 4 July 2025, the Chernihiv Professional Lyceum of Railway Transport hosted the opening of a career guidance hub created as part of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The event brought together representatives of education, business, local authorities and the public. The event featured a panel discussion on ‘Vocational Education Reform in Ukraine: Cooperation between Education, Business and Government’. The participants discussed the challenges and prospects for developing vocational education, the role of community-private sector partnerships, and practical tools for career support for young people.

‘There is a shortage of more than 400,000 people in Ukraine today. Therefore, modernising vocational schools is a top priority for our economy. The labour market requires skilled workers, so training these workers is essential for Ukraine’s reconstruction and development,’ said Olena Kovalska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

‘This space is a prime example of effective collaboration between the state, international partners, businesses, and the community. This collaboration contributes to the provision of high-quality career guidance for young people. Here, students can analyse their skills and preferences, try out different working professions and choose a conscious career path. This is an important contribution to the country’s future, as reconstruction is impossible without qualified vocational school leavers,’ said Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Since 2024, the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project, jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, has launched a new DECIDE: VET initiative. It aims to support the Government of Ukraine in piloting partnership models between educational institutions, authorities and businesses for the successful future of Ukrainian children. The pilot covered six regions and nine partner communities in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions. As part of the project, more than 14,500 children attended career guidance events and excursions. The initiative involved 109 businesses, helping children to familiarise themselves with the world of professions and decide what they want to do in the future.

Jean-Luc Bernasconi, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, emphasised:

‘Switzerland is indeed one of the most successful countries in the world in the field of vocational education, as two-thirds of ninth-grade school leavers choose to study at vocational schools. The secret of this success is the dual education system, which allows students to study and work simultaneously while still providing access to further university education. We are pleased to contribute to this strategically important reform in Ukraine because it is the specialists in blue-collar professions who are carrying out the reconstruction work today. We support the development of cooperation between education and business because vocational education should fully focus on the needs of the labour market. We believe that systematic career guidance will help attract more young people to vocational schools.’

‘Thanks to the Swiss government, we have the opportunity to implement such a system of Swiss career guidance. Sixty-five per cent of Swiss children choose vocational education. Today, we have the opportunity to be in this hub. Their contribution of more than UAH 6 million was mainly spent on equipment. This equipment enables children to try out different professions. This includes VR glasses, various laboratories and robotics — everything necessary for businesses to conduct training sessions and masterclasses. All this modern equipment was purchased with the support of the Swiss Cooperation Office under the DECIDE Project. The EdUP project also contributed to upgrading the hub,’ said Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager.

The event presented the results of piloting a career guidance system for children and teenagers in the Chernihiv region. During this time, 29 career guidance events were held for students, including 23 excursions to local businesses, where teenagers were able to learn about different professions. A total of 120 students of 8th- and 9th-grades joined the initiative, and 8 career counsellors were trained to support them.

During the event, participants were shown the locations of the hub, which included areas such as electrical installation, robotics and a VR station. They also took part in signing memoranda of cooperation with business representatives. The participants also had the opportunity to speak with students, teachers, careers advisers and DECIDE Project experts.

The newly created hub should become a platform that enables schoolchildren to develop skills, learn about different professions, and make an informed choice about their future career.