The dialogue took place on November 25, 2021, in Kyiv during the round table "Public-private partnership as a tool for the vocational education development" with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Economy, the "Public-private partnership to improved plumbing education in Ukraine" (EdUP) Project and members of the Public Union “Association of Installers of Engineering Systems”.
Iryna Shumik, Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, outlined the procedures that precede the emergence of new professions in the labor market and expressed hope that joint efforts will accelerate this process. “Each profession shall rely on an appropriate professional standard, which is to be initiated and developed by the employers themselves or by employers' associations. Educators do not act as initiators here,” she summed up.
Vladyslav Stefanyshyn, Chair of the Association of Installers of Engineering Systems, outlined the motivation for the new profession. He shared his vision of the competencies, education, and professional skills that will shape the new profession of the installer. According to him, this area of activity already actually exists in practice but is not officially enshrined in regulations.
Business representatives supported the creation of a new profession and outlined their reservations and expectations from the process of reforming plumbing education in Ukraine.
“We see the following further steps: the creation of a working group to describe the new profession and the new professional standard, as well as the development of educational standards and training programs in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine,” said Vladyslav Stefanyshyn.
As agreed, the first meeting of the working group with the participation of business representatives and line ministries will take place in December this year.
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The Public-Private Partnership to Improved Plumbing Education (EdUP) is a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in partnership with Geberit Trading LLC, implemented by Swisscontact Foundation for Technical Cooperation and supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.