New stage in national piloting of career guidance system — mentor training completed!

We have taken another important step towards ensuring that all pupils in Grades 8 and 9 in Ukraine are able to make an informed choice about their future career.

Last week in Lviv, the advanced training programme ‘JOBS. Career Guidance for Students: Training and Mentoring for Teachers’ training programme, which was part of the national piloting of a 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.

For two months, 134 mentors from postgraduate teacher training institutions across Ukraine underwent training from Pädagogische Hochschule Zürich to effectively support communities in implementing a career guidance system for children and adolescents.

In 2026, pilot institutions in 396 communities will begin to implement an optional course entitled ‘JOBS’ for students in Grades 8–9 at general secondary education institutions. To ensure the process is effective, mentors will train career advisors throughout 2026 to deliver the course in educational institutions in their communities, as well as helping communities to establish cooperation between education, local authorities, and businesses. The course integrates the best European approaches to career guidance while being adapted to the national education system. The three-day in-person session in Lviv formed the final stage of preparation for working with communities to implement career guidance for children and adolescents in educational institutions. The three days of intense and inspiring work focused on the practical aspects of implementing the career guidance system.

Together with DECIDE Project experts, participants also immersed themselves in:

• the specifics of the NUS reform, in particular the reform of specialised secondary education;

• establishing cooperation between education and business;

• working with the teaching materials of the ‘JOBS’ course;

• studying the practice of conducting career guidance excursions at the DECIDE Career Guidance Hub.

What are the next steps? Completing the training programme marks the start of a new phase in the national pilot of the career guidance system for children and adolescents. The next step is to develop an effective system that provides young people with systematic support to help them make informed career choices.

We appreciate the participants’ professionalism and enthusiasm for improving Ukrainian education!

Public Higher Educational Establishment ‘Vinnytsia Academy of Continuing Education’, Volyn In-Service Teachers Training Institute, Dnipro Academy of Continuing Education, Donetsk In-Service Teacher Training Institute, Zhytomyr Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Municipal institution ‘Transcarpathian Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education’ of the Zakarpattia Regional Council, Municipal institution ‘Zaporizhzhia Regional Institute of Continuing Pedagogical Education’ of Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Kyiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Kirovohrad Regional In-Service Teacher Training Institute, Luhansk Regional In-Service Teacher Training Institute, Lviv Regional Institute for Postgraduate Pedagogical Education.

Mykolaiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Municipal Higher Education Institution ‘Odesa Academy of In-Service Education of Odesa Regional Council’, Poltava M. V. Ostrohradskyi Academy of Continuing Education, Rivne Regional Institute of Post-Graduate Pedagogical Education.

Municipal Іnstitution Sumy Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Ternopil Regional Municipal Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Communal Higher Educational Establishment ‘Kherson Academy of Continuing Education of Kherson Regional Council’, Kharkiv Academy of Continuing Education.

H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Khmelnytskyi Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Communal Educational Institution ‘Cherkasy Regional Institute for Postgraduate Education of Pedagogical Workers’.

Chernivtsi In-Service Teacher Training Institute of Education, K. D. Ushynskyi Chernihiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Institute of Postgraduate Education of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University.

The DECIDE project is implemented by NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

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