On 7 May, the project ‘InConnect 2: Strengthening VET-Business Partnership’ was officially launched in Kyiv, Ukraine, to contribute to Ukraine's economic recovery by deepening cooperation between vocational education and employers.
The event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Qualifications Agency, the State Employment Service, as well as educational institutions from different regions of Ukraine. During the event, the key tasks and strategic goals of the project were presented, challenges in the labour market were discussed, and a vision of further steps was formed. 
Yurii Shkil, Executive Director of the NGU “Foundation for Support of Reforms in Ukraine”, noted:
'The project takes into account the key economic directions of Ukraine's development and is based on the Concept of Vocational Education Development. The partnership between business and vocational education is a tool for updating education, training and development of the local economy. The war has led to a loss of labour, education and business. We need to make up for this in order to create a decent national product for our victory.'
'The aim of the project is to deepen cooperation between vocational education and training institutions and businesses by developing a practical training programme that is focused on real needs, to increase the readiness of young people for the labour market, and all this will lead to economic resilience and sustainable development,' said Valerii Kokot, InConnect 2 project manager. 
The project participants will receive open online training, mentoring support, a sub-grant competition to implement joint initiatives and disseminate best partnership practices. It is expected that the project will result in the signing of at least 10 memoranda between VET and business institutions, the implementation of 10 partnership projects, and the creation of a manual for replicating models of cooperation and partnership.
The event was organised within the framework of the project “InConnect 2: Strengthening VET-Business Partnership”. The project is being implemented by the NGU ‘Foundation for support of reforms in Ukraine’ with the financial support of the European Union, Germany, Poland and Estonia within the framework of the Skills4Recovery Multi-Donor Initiative implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ Ukraine) GmbH and Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).
