On 19 March 2026, the final forum of the InConnect 2 project took place in Kyiv. It was not only a culmination of the joint efforts of vocational education institutions, businesses and communities, but also a welcoming space for networking, sharing experience and building new partnerships.
The event brought together representatives of vocational education, public institutions, businesses and local communities around a shared question: how to build sustainable partnerships that prepare the specialists Ukraine’s economy already needs today, and how to make vocational education a driver of the country’s recovery.
“Today, more than ever, we need a strong connection between education and the labour market. It is through this kind of cooperation that people can gain in-demand skills, and employers can find the specialists they truly need,” emphasised Dariia Marchak, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
The forum was the final event of the InConnect2 project, which the Foundation for Support of Reforms in Ukraine implemented within the framework of the multi-donor Skills4Recovery initiative. The project aimed to strengthen cooperation between vocational education institutions and the business sector. Teams from the institutions and the business sector shared what they had achieved together: updated curricula tailored to business needs, essential modern equipment, and practical training for students directly at enterprises.
“The most valuable aspect of such partnerships is that they deliver tangible results for people, communities and businesses. When education works in close collaboration with employers, it opens more opportunities for young people and helps communities to become stronger,” said Michael Paulo, Project Director, Skills4Recovery, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
A total of 33 vocational education institutions from various regions of Ukraine joined InConnect 2. 72 participants completed a two-and-a-half-month training programme on partnership development and project management. Following the training, 10 institutions with the strongest project proposals received grants to implement them. The total funding amounted to €40,000.
Importantly, the project encouraged genuine engagement with the business sector. Nine out of ten teams secured co-funding from businesses and civil society organisations totalling over UAH 958,000. Furthermore, vocational education institutions and businesses signed 22 memoranda of cooperation, paving the way for further joint programmes, work placements and new educational projects. 
During the forum, the teams presented examples of partnerships in the fields of agriculture, logistics, services and construction. These included a career guidance project with a career map for students in the Poltava region, intensive training programmes for vulnerable groups in Ternopil, and the launch of the innovative ‘Green Agriculture’ programme in Korostyshiv. In each of these cases, collaboration between education and business has created new opportunities for students and helped the educational institutions themselves feel stronger, more modern, and more closely connected to the economy.
The atmosphere at the forum was special — open, sincere and very human. It was not just about figures and results, but also about trust, initiative, responsibility and a willingness to move forward together. Ultimately, this became the main takeaway from the event: strong vocational education flourishes where there is dialogue, shared responsibility and an understanding that partnership is a tool for real change. 
“The most important thing is that, over this period, vocational education, business and local communities have begun to listen to one another and see a shared vision,” concluded Nataliia Malynovska, Project Manager and expert at the Foundation for Support of Reforms in Ukraine.
The project “InConnect 2: Strengthening VET-Business Partnership” was implemented by the Foundation for support of reforms in Ukraine with the financial support of the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark within the framework of the Skills4Recovery Multi-Donor Initiative implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).