On 22 August, Odesa hosted an important regional forum "Training of Specialists in Vocational Education Centres of the State Employment Service: Training Ukrainians for Business Needs". The event was held as part of the Reforming the Labour Potential Support and Development System project, implemented by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine in partnership with the NGO Business Sector Development of Ukraine with the support of the USAID Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI).

The main topics of the forum included a discussion of labour market challenges in the southern regions of Ukraine and ways to overcome them, as well as practical aspects of cooperation between business and vocational education and training centres (VET centres).

📊 Keynote speakers and topics of the rashes:

✅Dmytro Radulov, Deputy Head of Odesa Regional State Military Administration - Regional economy: problems and prospects. Regional policy of support and development of human capital in times of war.

✅Tetyana Berezhna, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine - Policy of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine on reforming the system of support and development of labour potential, expanding business opportunities in the labour market.

✅Yulia Zhovtyak, Director of the State Employment Service of Ukraine - Opportunities of the State Employment Service of Ukraine, its regional offices and regional vocational education centres to meet the needs of business in personnel with appropriate qualifications and training.

✅Mykita Korenev, Director of the Odesa Regional Employment Centre - Efficiency of cooperation between business and the Odesa Regional Employment Centre and its structural unit - the Centre for Vocational Education, proposals for its expansion.

✅Kostiantyn Zhuravel, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Employers' Organisations of Odesa Region, business expert of the project - Problems of staffing in the southern regions and business vision of their solution.

✅Kateryna Morozova, Head of the Southern Ukrainian Office of the European Business Association (EBA Odesa), business expert of the project - Results of the regional business sentiment survey and key challenges for employers.

✅Volodymyr Borysenko, President of the Poltava CCI, business expert of the project - Development of human potential of the regions: opportunities for cooperation between the State Employment Service and civil society institutions.

✅Roman Sarzhynskyi, Director of the Odesa Centre for Vocational Education of the State Employment Service - Cooperation of the Odesa VET Centre with employers: current state and areas of improvement.

🔥Particular attention was paid to the topic "Personnel shortage of agribusiness in Odesa region: current state and mechanism of its overcoming", which was covered by Alla STOYANOVAHead of the Agrarian Odesa Region deputy group at the Odesa Regional Council.

In her speech, Alla STOIANOVA highlighted the acute problem of the shortage of qualified personnel in the agricultural sector of Odesa region. She noted that this problem is becoming more and more urgent due to demographic changes, migration processes and changes in the labour market. An important part of her speech was highlighting the need for close cooperation between business and educational institutions to train new specialists who meet the requirements of the modern labour market.

Alla Andriyivna also expressed pride in Ukrainian farmers who, in such a difficult time, are defending the country's food security despite all the challenges, and stressed that training new specialists for the agricultural sector is not only a matter of business survival, but also a strategic task for the whole country.

The Forum "Training of Specialists in Vocational Education Centres of the State Employment Service: Training Ukrainians for Business Needs" is not just an event, but a powerful step towards the future, which is especially important in times of war. Today, when the country needs every conscious and trained specialist, it is especially important to join the efforts of the state, business and educators to develop our labour potential. At this forum, we saw how we can effectively respond to the challenges of the labour market in the southern regions of Ukraine. We heard important ideas that will help us overcome the staff shortage in key industries, including agribusiness. We heard about specific mechanisms of cooperation between business and vocational education centres that are already helping to create jobs and train specialists who can work effectively for economic development.

This forum confirmed the importance of working together in difficult times. He emphasised that only together - the state, business, educational institutions and the public - we will be able to train personnel who will not only work, but also build the future of our Ukraine and Odesa region in particular," says Alla STOYANOVA, .

This forum provided a platform for discussing important topics and showed that solving the human resources problems of the agricultural sector is possible only through joint efforts of the state, business and educational institutions.

💙💛WE WORK TOGETHER TO WIN!