Adult education, as outlined in Article 18 of the Law on Education (Закон України ‘Про освіту’), is an integral part of lifelong learning. This component of the education system supports the right of every adult to continuous learning, taking into account individual needs, social development priorities and economic demands. State authorities and local self-government bodies are responsible for creating the necessary conditions for the provision of formal, non-formal and informal adult education and training.

The components of adult education include:                            

• Postgraduate education;

• Vocational training for employees;

• Retraining and/or advanced training courses;

• Continuous professional development;

• Any other components provided for by law, proposed by the subject of educational activity or independently determined by the person. 

Adults have the right to freely choose educational institutions, organisations or other education providers, as well as the type, form, pace of education and programme of learning that best suit their preferences and needs.

Postgraduate education involves acquiring new competences and enhancing previously attained ones on the basis of higher education, vocational education and training (VET) or professional pre-higher education and practical experience. Postgraduate education includes:

Specialisation - specialised training in order to acquire the ability to perform tasks and duties that have specific features within the speciality;

Retraining - education aimed at vocational training or the purpose of mastering another profession(s);

Advanced training - the acquisition of new and/or improvement of previously acquired

competences within a professional activity or field of knowledge;

Internship - practical experience in performing tasks and duties in a particular professional activity or field of knowledge.

In healthcare sector, postgraduate education also includes internship and medical residency, which are key stages in professional specialisation. Specifically:

Internship - a mandatory first stage of specialisation for medical and pharmaceutical specialties. It leads to qualification as a specialist doctor or specialist pharmacist.

Medical residency - a form of specialisation for medical specialists in certain medical fields.It aims to provide the qualification of a specialist doctor in accordance with the list of medical specialties approved by the central executive healthcare authority.

Both internships and medical residencies are conducted at universities, academies, institutes, scientific organisations and healthcare facilities accredited by the central executive healthcare authority as training sites.

The principles of vocational training for employees are defined by the Law on Professional Development of Employees (Закон України ‘Про професійний розвиток працівників’).

Advanced training courses aim to help participants acquire new competences within a specific professional activity or field of knowledge.

Continuous professional development (CPD) is an ongoing process of training and improving the professional competence of specialists who have completed higher and/or postgraduate education. CPD enables specialists to maintain and improve the standards of their work throughout their careers. 

Educational institutions offering compulsory advanced training for employees and internship programmes must obtain the required licenses and/or accreditations in accordance with the law. 

The staff of licensed postgraduate educational institutionsconsists of includes pedagogical, scientific-pedagogical and/or scientific personnel, as well as other specialists, as defined by the Law on Education.

The Draft Law on Adult Education (проєкт Закону України ‘Про освіту дорослих’), registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 10 February 2022, introduces a fundamentally new approach to adult education and training. Approved in the first reading on 12 January 2023, it is scheduled for a second reading in 2024. The draft law incorporates key recommendations, including:

•  Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning;

• Council recommendation of 22 May 2017 on the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning and repealing the recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning;

• UNESCO guidelines on lifelong learning.

This legislation establishes a new ideology for adult education, focusing on re-industrialising the system to meet modern societal and economic demands. The ongoing development of the adult education system reflects the principles and vision outlined in the draft law.