Ukraine’s vocational education community teams up with European Training Foundation to improve vocational training

Thirty-five representatives of Ukraine’s vocational education system gathered this week at the European Training Foundation (ETF) headquarters in Turin for a peer learning visit focused on Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE). 

The initiative, organised with the support of the Belgian development agency Enabel, aims to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian institutions to design and implement vocational excellence models aligned with European standards.

Participants included officials from the Ministry of Education and Science, directors of vocational schools from across Ukraine, and representatives of local authorities and expert organisations involved in pilot CoVE initiatives. 

Over the week, they worked on governance, management, financing models and practical tools with the aim of translating these elements into a strategic approach tailored to the Ukrainian context.

“CoVEs are growing all around the world, and the crucial part of them is the build-up of a skills ecosystem: schools, training centres, private sector, SMEs, municipalities, all involved together,” said Georgios Zisimos, Head of Policy Advice Unit at the ETF.

The visit comes at a time when Ukraine is pushing forward education reforms, including a new VET law adopted in September 2025, while also preparing for long-term reconstruction.

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Press release