Values and priorities

Labour potential can be developed only through a comprehensive approach, through a systematic cooperation between the government, employers, and employees. This topic is especially acute since the country is adopting an innovative development strategy, and has recently entered the World Trade Organization.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has identified the upgrading of content of vocational education as the priority for 2008.
The Ministry of Education and Science has identified five main approaches to fulfilling this priority:
-         supplying vocational schools with modern machinery and equipment;
-         introducing new forms of cooperation between the education, industry, and business;
-         developing, piloting, and implementing national standards of vocational education; introducing information and communication technologies into the teaching and learning process;
-         ensuring qualitatively new personnel potential for the vocational education system;
-         establishing a national legal and methodological framework for the vocational education.
The basic document guiding the implementation of these measures is the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of October 17, 2007 No. 886-р "On adopting the plan of activities aimed at supplying the labour market with qualified labour "
In order to fulfill the aforementioned Decree, the Ministry developed an Action plan and approved it with a respective Order (of December 12, 2007 No. 1121). There is a plan in place to establish skills training centres for innovation technologies based on public vocational schools. The list of these schools is already prepared, as well as the specifications for such centres. Over the period from 2008 to 2012 the Ministry plans to open 200 centres, including 76 centres for agriculture, 103 - for the manufacturing industry; 9 – for the road construction; 12 – for the hospitality industry.  In 2008, the preparations started on opening such centres for agricultural and machine-building industries in Vinnytsia, Poltava, and Cherkasy regions. The 2008 budget allocates for these purposes UAH 10,800 thousand, which, together with UAH 625 thousand from the local budgets and UAH 640 thousand from the employers makes up the total of UAH 12,065 thousand. The government funding worth UAH 3 million is already being transferred to these three vocational schools, that use it for purchasing machinery and equipment. Next year it is planned to allocate UAH 50 million for the same purpose.
         This Decree also envisages a number of other regulatory documents on improving the vocational education system. These are developed jointly with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finances, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and other central government authorities, as well as regional state administrations.

Work is underway on developing a Draft Law on amending the existing legislation regulating the vocational education system. According to the draft, it is planned to reduce the number of students per group to 20-25 people, introduce provisions governing the free of charge skills training, etc.
In order to attract highly qualified experts from the field to working at vocational schools, the Ministry of Education and Science developed a draft Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On Amending Clause 2 of the Regulations on the Long-Service Benefits to the Teaching Staff”. The Draft was agreed with the stakeholders from the government authorities and submitted to the Government. The draft envisages counting the years served by these teachers and instructors in the industry prior to obtaining a position at a public vocational school as their teaching experience.

Employers’ participation in skills training.
The Draft Tax Code of Ukraine has provision on benefits to the companies and organizations that take part in skills training. Besides, this issue is partially regulated by Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Taxation of Business Profits”. According to p. 5.2.2, clause 5.2, Article 5 of this Law, the total costs include the costs ensuing from voluntarily handing goods (works, services) over to the State Budget, regional budgets, non-profit organization identified in cl. 7.11 Article 7 of this Law, as well as sums transferred to legal entities, including non-profit organizations-founders of permanent arbitrations, in the amount exceeding two per cent, but not bigger than five per cent from the taxable income from the previous reporting year.

The Regulations on Employing Vocational Schools Graduates was developed by representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finances, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and other stakeholders from the central government authorities. In the second quarter of the current year the Regulations will be submitted for review by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Vocational education content is updated through the application of ICT. Over the past two years vocational schools have received 806 computer labs, or 12.9 thousand computers. One of the main indicators for computerization is the number of students per one computer and their efficient application in the teaching and learning process. Currently, there are 21 students per 1 computer. According to preliminary data, 30 per cent of the vocational schools employ innovating methodologies for using computer software.

The Decree of the Ministry of Education and Science of August 29, 2007 No. 771 and 772, upon agreement with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, approved and introduced into the teaching process 35 national standards on trades occupations. Over 2007, more than 80 draft national standards were piloted in vocational schools; currently, 34 more projects are being negotiated with the respective ministries.
Measures have been taken to introduce modern teaching and learning tools and facilities into vocational schools. Among other things, they received 5 teaching software packages. In 2007, 7 manuals with a total of 99.3 thousand copies were published; there are plans to publish 14 manuals with the total of 200 thousand copies in 2008.

Experiment is underway on funding vocational schools from the local budgets in Lviv and Kharkiv regions and in the city of Kyiv.
As the result of this experiment, last year the Ministry published a Decree of January 31, 2008 No. 49 “On continuing the funding of vocational schools from local budgets in Lviv and Kharkiv regions, and in the city of Kyiv”.
Positive results of this experiment are the following: the costs are allocated monthly in the needs basis; students receive higher bursaries; the professional development of instructors has improved; funds are allocated for upgrading the facilities and equipment; more funding goes on students’ catering; there is a monthly benefit to the teaching staff, etc.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, together with other interested ministries, is actively involved in collaboration with 14 countries regarding the issues of supplying the labour market with qualified labour, under the framework of such international projects:
-   “Decentralized Management of Skills Training in Ukraine”;
-   “Improving the Regional System of Skills Training Management”;
-   “Improving the Quality of Training for the Tourism Industry”;
-   “Supporting the Vocational Education Reform in Ukraine”;
-   “Studying the Migration Processes in Ukraine and the Skills Levels of Ukraine’s Labour Resources”.
This experience will be used when developing a Draft Concept of Vocational Education in Ukraine, which will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in December, 2008.

The Ukrainian Confederation of Employers, ministries and government agencies, researchers, practitioners, international  experts are jointly developing a Concept of the National Qualification System, which will be adopted  in due course by the Cabinet of Ministers. The goal of the Concept is to develop a single, comprehensive, open and flexible qualifications system that will include all types and levels of vocational education and training. It will focus on current and future labour market needs and enhancing the competitiveness of the labour force, focusing the vocational education policy on the country’s economic development.
The Draft Concept envisages the main directions for developing the national qualification system in the areas of vocational education management, as well as its legal, economic, organization, and methodological framework.
At the same time, taking into account domestic and international experience, it is necessary to move to the independent evaluation system for the competences and qualifications, with further plans to establish an institution for independent evaluation of qualifications, taking into account the European requirements for the recognition of education credentials on the national and international levels.
Leading vocational schools continue to introduce new production technologies, materials, and equipment into the learning process. Such companies as, for example,  “Henkel Bautechnik Ukraine”, “Knauf” and “Boni” have become social partners for schools in this endeavor.