The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project supports the implementation of a pilot project by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Government in the development and piloting of a new model for the management and funding of vocational education institutions. Three vocational education institutions in Zhytomyrska community finished the legal phase of their reorganisation and became municipal non-profit organisations. They are the first participants in the pilot project of the M

The preparation for the launch of the specialised senior secondary school requires from communities not only the identification of an institution that will become an academic-oriented lyceum. It is equally important to forecast the number of future senior secondary students, identify their educational needs, plan transport arrangements and, where necessary, agree on cooperation with neighbouring communities. Representatives of Novoselytska community in Chernivtsi region discu

In July and August, the team of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project’s experts on local self-government – Ihor Melnychuk, Petro Hotsaliuk, and Khrystyna Duda – visited 15 communities in two regions. Consultations were held in Novytska, Spaska, Hvizdetska, Pidhaichykivska, Piadytska, Horodenkivska, Nyzhnioverbizka, Kosivska, and Korshivska communities, as well as in Teresvianska, Neresnytska, Dubivska, Horinchivska, Keretskivska, and Svaliavska communities in Zakarpattia region.

The problem of youth outflow abroad has historically been a pressing one for Keretskivska community in Zakarpattia region, as the region is a border area. However, the community has decided to take proactive measures. Local authorities, together with educators, have transformed career guidance into a strategic tool for development, and thanks to cooperation with the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project, this work has become systematic and targeted. The community began taking its fi

What would happen if, instead of lofty conversations about vocations and tedious lectures «just for the sake of it», we gave teenagers a real-life taster of different professions? For example, taking them to a massive grain silo, setting up a technical workshop right in the schoolyard, and being honest about local wage levels. The result would be a mild shock, a sudden interest in the exact sciences, and a bunch of shattered stereotypes. Early surveys in Rudkivska community i

The additional selection of communities to participate in the national pilot project of the career guidance system for children and adolescents, implemented by the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, has been completed. We congratulate 119 new communities and 5 districts of Kyiv on joining the national pilot project! Overall, 510 communities are already developing a career guidance system together with us! The l

Hleiuvatska community in Dnipropetrovsk region is situated just 15 minutes from the city of Kryvyi Rih. For many, this would mean an inevitable drain of young people to the big city; however, here the authorities decided to take pre-emptive action. The community is convinced that career guidance is not simply a matter of vocation, but of the economic survival of the entire community. ‘Nowadays, careers guidance is about who will be working in our hospital, school or in the fi

Whenever people talk today about overcoming the educational losses caused by the war or the pandemic, the first things that come to mind are gaps in knowledge of maths or chemistry. However, in Olevska community in Zhytomyr region, they have taken a deeper look at the matter. ‘There is another aspect to this problem, one that is common nationwide: children often have no idea at all what they want to be or what they really like,’ argues Vira Kovalchuk, Acting Head of the Depar

In 2026, teachers’ salaries will increase in two stages. Following a 30% increase in January, the basic salaries of teaching staff will rise by a further 20% from 1 September. Overall, teachers’ salaries will rise by 50% over the year compared with last year. Importantly, this is not a bonus but an increase in the basic salary itself. Since bonuses and allowances are calculated on the basis of this basic salary, the total monthly salary will also increase. However, from 1 Sep

‘When, at the end of each day, a child asks with eyes that light up, “What are we going to do tomorrow?”, you realise that everything has gone well. Our children not only relax – every day they make new discoveries about themselves, their region and their own future in Ukraine,’ says Yuliia Shaposhnyk, a teacher at the Reshetylivka Hub Lyceum run by the Reshetylivka City Council. In Reshetylivska community in Poltava region, DECIDE Summer Clubs “We are at home – in Ukraine” i