On 24 November 2025, Maryna Vasylieva, Deputy Director, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor at the Education and Research Institute “Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy” of Karazin University, and Roman Nesterenko, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department, took part in the Forum, which has already become a tradition. This year's forum focused on promoting economic development and Ukraine's integration into the European Qualifications Framework. The following speakers delivered welcoming remarks and expressed their support for the forum: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Member of Parliament of Ukraine; Serhii Babak, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation; Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Yurii Balaniuk, Chairman of the National Agency for Qualifications; and Dmytro Oliinyk, Chairman of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine.
The forum programme was structured around four key sessions, each of which revealed a separate aspect of the transformations shaping Ukraine's human capital: “Ukraine in the EU skills and employment ecosystem”, “Education – a necessity for the economy and labour market”, “Professional qualifications in the fields of national security and defence”, and “Professional qualifications in education”.
International analytical presentations were particularly valuable: Ursula Renold, a researcher in vocational education in Switzerland, presented a study entitled “Analysis of the alignment of skills and education with labour market needs in the post-disaster recovery process”, which accurately reflects the realities in Ukraine; Michael Paulo, head of Skills4Recovery, who shared an analytical view of the Ukrainian labour market in 2025, focusing on key trends and challenges, as well as how modern training solutions and sectoral cooperation help to overcome staffing gaps; Kateryna Markevych, Project Manager at Helvetas, who presented a vision for the development of innovative education to create an inclusive labour market.
The forum included a review of the exhibition areas of the qualification centres: presentation videos, master classes, demonstrations of equipment and assessment procedures, in which nine centres took part.
The forum was held with the financial support of the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia and Denmark as part of the Skills4Recovery Multi-Donor Initiative, which is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).
Participation in the Forum gave the ERI “UEPA”, together with partners from the National Qualifications Agency, the opportunity to present the Erasmus+ project CRED4TEACH “MOOC-based microcredentials for teachers` professional development” and distribute project newsletters among forum participants. On the sidelines of the forum, a productive meeting was held with Iryna Shumik, Director General at the Directorate of Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Science, with whom the interaction between Karazin University and the Ministry of Education and Science in the development of joint international projects aimed at developing and reforming the system of vocational and pre-higher education in Ukraine was discussed. We are moving forward with the implementation of transformations in the professional training of teachers in vocational education!
