Curricula, subjects, number of hours
Persons with basic general secondary education can simultaneously obtain a complete general secondary education in vocational or other educational institution in accordance with the State Standard for Basic and Complete General Secondary Education (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про затвердження Державного стандарту базової і повної загальної середньої освіти’).
The State Standard for Vocational Education and Training (VET) (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про затвердження Державного стандарту професійної (професійно-технічної) освіти’) serves as a basis for the development of state educational standards for specific professions. These professions are listed in the National Classifier of Ukraine (Національний класифікатор України).
The MESU develops and approves state educational standards for specific professions in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and, if necessary, other relevant central executive authorities. Once finalised, these standards are sent to the Joint Representative Body of employers at the national level for comments and suggestions.
Educational programmes for general VET subjects are developed on the basis of the Standard educational programme for general secondary education institutions of the third level (Типова освітня програма закладів загальної середньої освіти ІІІ ступеня), proposed by the MESU. These programmes take into account the specifics of the profession and the regional context.
For specific VET professions, educational programmes align with the state educational standards for those professions. These programmes specify the duration of training, considering factors such as the type of training (initial vocational training, vocational retraining or advanced training), the form of training, entrance assessment results and the characteristics of the learners.
Teaching methods and materials
For learners who obtain both a profession and a complete general secondary education in a VET institution, the requirements for educational materials are similar to those for specialised secondary education.
VET institutions follow a competence-based approach to education. This approach is aimed at the development of compulsory key, general and professional competences of learners.
Article 12 of the Law on Education (Закон України ‘Про освіту’) defines the key competences necessary for personal development throughout life. These competences are formed on the basis of their importance for future employment in a specific profession. This law also outlines general competences that are common for all levels of education: reading comprehension; ability to express one's opinion orally and in writing; critical and systematic thinking; ability to logically justify a position; creativity and initiative; ability to constructively manage emotions, assess risks, make decisions, solve problems and team working.
Professional competences are a combination of knowledge, skills, abilities and professionally relevant personal qualities. They ensure the ability to perform the job functions outlined in the relevant professional standard. Competences are defined with regard to the specific profession. They also guide methodological approaches to the implementation of the theoretical part of educational programmes and the organisation of industrial practice (Лист Міністерства освіти і науки України ‘Про організацію освітнього процесу у закладах професійної (професійно-технічної) освіти у 2023/2024 навчальному році’).
A list of main training aids for acquiring a profession in VET is based on the professional standard or, if not available, on the vocational qualification description. This includes equipment, tools, mechanisms, models and service delivery tools, etc. with specified quantities to meet the competences defined in the standard.
In December 2022, the MESU launched the VET online platform (Професійна освіта онлайн), the first of its kind for distance learning in Ukraine. As of the 2023/2024 school year, it offered 80 online courses in 24 most popular professions.