A training workshop on "Systematising Support for Students in Choosing a Career" was held in Kyiv

On 8–9 May, the DECIDE Project organised a training workshop on "Systematising support for students in choosing a career", bringing together career advisors and coordinators from partner communities and regions in Kyiv.

The workshop provided an opportunity to learn from each other, discuss achievements over the year and exchange experiences. All of this took place within the framework of piloting a career support system for students in 9 DECIDE partner communities from six regions, as part of the DECIDE: VET programme, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Speakers at the seminar included DECIDE Project Manager Valentyna Poltorak; Iryna Shumik, Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Education at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Wiltrud Weidinger, Prof. Dr. phil., professor for educational science at the Zurich University of Teacher Education and the Head of the Centre for Teaching and Transcultural Learning; Dr. Corinna Borer, lecturer at the Zurich University of Teacher Education and employee of the Centre for Teaching and Transcultural Learning; as well as experts and master trainers from the DECIDE Project.

Participants engaged in detailed discussions about several key topics:

– What has been achieved in career guidance over the past year, and how is the attitude towards vocational education changing?

– How is the reform of vocational education progressing in Ukraine?

– How can we help young people choose a career path and develop a career guidance roadmap?

During the pilot phase, each community had its unique characteristics, and participants shared interesting case studies supported by video presentations.While career guidance for children and adolescents in choosing a profession is well established in Switzerland, career counsellors and career guidance coordinators for communities and regions are a new concept in Ukraine. Therefore, during the piloting period, experts from the Zurich University of Teacher Education shared their experience of the practical use of modern career guidance methods and techniques with their Ukrainian colleagues. They conducted a series of online sessions on topics such as the effectiveness of career guidance, increasing student motivation and self-awareness, and involving parents in career guidance activities. Exchanging experience between regional teams showed that this knowledge is being used effectively and productively in practice!