During one year of the national pilot project of the career guidance system for children and adolescents, over 500 communities from all regions joined the initiative
The pilot project aims to create a comprehensive, sustainable, and accessible model for career guidance and support for students, implemented by the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, regional military administrations, local governments, educational institutions, and employers.
During the first year of the pilot project at the community and regional levels:
more than 61,000 students in Grades 8–9 took part in career guidance excursions to more than 2,200 companies, institutions, and organisations, where the teenagers could test themselves in different professions and learn more about career opportunities in their communities;
students attended vocational, pre-higher, and higher education institutions, learned about educational paths and opportunities to continue their studies after Grade 9;
communities and educational institutions are developing partnerships with employers – more than 1,000 memorandums of cooperation with businesses have already been signed;
the optional course JOBS helps students explore their own strengths and interests and align them with potential educational and career paths. In 2026, more than 75,000 students in Grades 8-9 will take this course.
The next step is to scale up the career guidance system so that this support is available to children and adolescents in schools throughout Ukraine. In cooperation with Zurich University of Teacher Education – International, training is already underway for mentors who will later be involved in training 15,000 career education counsellors to work with secondary school students.
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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