Provision to raise achievement in basic skills

In Ukraine, various organisations provide adult education services to enhance basic skills. These include almost all central executive authorities, vocational training/postgraduate education centres, educational institutions, scientific institutes, licensed training centres and various stakeholders such as employers, domestic and international NGOs and trade unions. Many of these services focus on corporate-level training. The main providers funded by state and local budgets are:

• 23 institutions of postgraduate pedagogical education and numerous higher education institutions (HEIs) that ensure professional development for pedagogical staff; 

• Training and research institutes (centres) of postgraduate education for doctors and nurses. These institutes operate within all medical HEIs, certain professional pre-higher education medical institutions and research institutes of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.

Provision to achieve a recognised qualification during adulthood сertification

Independent centres provide services for the recognition of qualifications during adult certification. These centres specialise in the assessment and awarding of professional qualifications in regulated professions and specialities, grouped according to the following sectoral and professional criteria:

• legal professional qualifications: lawyer, notary, prosecutor, judge;

• professional qualifications of doctors, pharmacists, pharmaceutical specialists, healthcare professionals and specialists with higher non-medical education employed in healthcare institutions;

• professional qualifications of personnel involved in maintaining the airworthiness of aircraft, aviation products, components and equipment;

• professional qualifications of maritime and river transport personnel;

• professional qualifications of railway transport drivers;

• professional qualifications of drivers of wheeled vehicles powered by engines exceeding 5 kW;

• professional qualifications of auditors in the financial sector;

• professional qualifications of auditors in energy and energy efficiency;

• professional qualifications of auditors and inspectors in ecology and natural resources management;

• professional qualifications in defence and national security;

• professional qualifications in law enforcement;

• professional qualifications of property managers (building or group of buildings);

• professional qualifications of personnel for the operation of nuclear installations, whose training requires licensing;

• professional qualifications of specialists for specific types of work (services) related to the creation of architectural objects;

• professional qualifications of land surveyors and geodetic engineers;

• professional qualifications of emergency and rescue service personnel and rescuers;

• professional qualifications of specialists in non-destructive testing;

• professional qualifications of veterinary medicine employees in state institutions;

• professional qualifications of personnel engaged in professional activities in the stock market (securities market), including securities trading, depository activities, clearing activities and the organisation of stock market trading;

• professional qualifications of personnel engaged in professional security activities.

The state, government agencies, private employers, or individuals seeking professional qualifications in a regulated profession fund these services based on sectoral and professional affiliation. In addition, 33 qualification centres accredited by the National Qualifications Agency provide services for the recognition of other professional qualifications in adult certification.

Provision targeting the transition to the labour market

Training with a State Voucher. Employment centres issue one-time training vouchers to persons who are not registered as unemployed and meet specific criteria, including:

• persons aged over 45;

• persons with at least 15 years of insurance experience;

• persons with vocational, professional pre-higher or higher education;

• persons who have not reached the retirement age set by Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Compulsory State Pension Insurance’;

• persons who are not registered as unemployed with an employment centre;

• persons who have not undergone retraining funded by the Compulsory State Unemployment Insurance Fund of Ukraine in the last three years;

• persons who have not previously received a training voucher.

Voucher-based training is available in the following areas:

• retraining for a skilled trade;

• training in a speciality to obtain a Master’s degree based on a previous Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in another field;

• training at the next level of education (excluding the third [educational-scientific/ educational-creative] and scientific levels of higher education);

• specialisation and advanced training for professions and specialities related to priority economic sectors.

Vocational, professional pre-higher and higher education institutions, along with licensed enterprises, organisations and institutions, provide the training. They operate in accordance with the List of professions and specialities eligible for voucher-based training (Наказ Міністерства розвитку економіки, торгівлі та сільського господарства України ‘Про затвердження Переліку професій, спеціальностей, для навчання за якими може бути виданий ваучер’).

Professional orientation courses for adults

• Courses reflecting labour market trends are delivered online through video and multimedia formats, including the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). Participants (students, parents and other adults) саn explore different careers, prepare for employment and learn about the most promising professions in Ukraine and around the world.

• Career guidance services for adults include online courses such as Choice31, which focuses on career orientation. The Career Guidance and Development Platform of the State Employment Service of Ukraine (Платформа з профорієнтації та розвитку кар'єри) serves as a key provider of free services in this area.

Provision of liberal (popular) adult education

Ukraine has a wide network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) offering educational services to adults, usually free of charge. Among the most notable examples are the following:

Prometheus online platform: а Ukrainian civic project for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) launched in 2014. Its main goal is to provide free access to university-level online courses for everyone and to enable leading lecturers, universities and companies to share their content. As of 1 May 2024, over 2.7 million users have registered, with more than 400 courses available and over 2 million certificates issued.

Open University of Maidan (OUM): а civic education platform that creates online courses for the development of Ukrainian society. Based on the OUM, it has about 206,000 registered learners, 88 online courses and around 107 certificates issued as of 1 May 2024.

Online platform for non-formal education (Learn LifeLong): supported by the DVV International Representation in Ukraine, the International Centre for Informal Education and the Ukrainian Association for Adult Education.

Teach for Ukraine: a non-profit organisation that engages motivated graduates and young professionals to teach in rural communities for two years (or one year during wartime). These educators inspire change, open new opportunities for children and contribute to community development.

ProOsvita Charitable Foundation. This non-profit organisation works to expand access to quality education for citizens. It promotes civic education, human rights and democracy while raising funds to implement educational projects aimed at developing education and science in Ukraine. The Foundation also supports sustainable community development and improves the overall educational level of Ukrainian citizens.

EdEra online education studio: а Ukrainian online educational studio that has been creating online courses, educational platforms, interactive games and textbooks for over eight years. In 2022, the platform reached 2 million users.

Other types of publicly subsidised provision for adult learners

Among the variety of other adult education services, three main groups stand out:

1. Training aimed at preparing for participation in and coping with the consequences of military operations, as well as adapting war participants to civilian life;
2. Training courses focused on improving skills in cybersecurity and protecting critical infrastructure entities;
3. Short-term personal development courses.

1.Training aimed at preparing for participation in and coping with the consequences of military operations, as well as adapting war participants to civilian life:

• Civilian Readiness Training Centres - a project by the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, whose goal is to provide basic military training to civilians and develop skills essential in times of war. As of 1 May 2024, 87 centres were operating in 20 regions of Ukraine. These centres conducted 2,685 training sessions, attended by 48,488 Ukrainian civilians.

• Numerous educational service providers offer both paid and free training on emergency medical care, first aid, psychological first aid, volunteer development, social, vocational and domestic rehabilitation of war veterans and their families. Training also includes assembling, repairing and operating simple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially during wartime.

• Short-term training at eight vocational education centres. These centres, functioning under regional employment centres, also provide educational services to persons disabled due to the war. They currently offer over 300 educational programmes leading to more than 20 full and 100 partial professional qualifications at levels 2–4 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

2. Training courses focused on improving skills in cybersecurity and protecting critical infrastructure entities: 

• Online training on security and resilience of critical infrastructure. Designed for government representatives and enterprises, these courses aim to improve knowledge in security and stability of critical infrastructure. The nine-course module covers various aspects of addressing threats to critical infrastructure, drawing on practical experience from the United States and providing legislative and organisational algorithms for problem-solving. Smart Power Corporation offers 22 open courses covering a comprehensive range of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection issues.

• Online course ‘Fundamentals of Cybersecurity for Public Servants’. This course helps public servants improve their computer literacy, learn about the most common cybercriminal schemes and discover how to combat data breaches. The course consists of eight modules, addressing general threats in the media environment and providing recommendations on how to protect personal and professional data.

3.Short-term personal development courses:

Hundreds of courses are offered through various online platforms to acquire or improve general, key and personal skills. These courses cover a wide range of topics - from landscape design to fishing - and cater for a variety of interests and needs.