Information for EU member states: authorities, schools / colleges / universities, and employers in the EU

Ukraine’s education and training system has been increasingly linked with EU, and wider European, systems in recent years. Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, the principal instrument for bringing Ukraine and EU closer together, promotes stronger economic, political, and cultural ties between the parties. The Agreement includes a significant education and training component, which has brought Ukraine’s education and training system more closely in line with EU structures, via EU instruments. Much of the country’s internal reform agenda mirrors that of the EU. Ukraine is reforming its education and training system, find out here: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/reformi/rozvitok-lyudskogo-kapitalu/reforma-osviti 

A general description of Ukraine’s education and training system, including general education, higher education and vocational education, can be found at these official Ukrainian sites:

• The National Information Centre for Academic Mobility: https://enic.in.ua/index.php/en/educationl-system   Contact: centre@enic.in.ua
• The Ministry of Education and Science: https://mon.gov.ua/eng Contact:  icpd@mon.gov.ua
• The New Ukrainian School is the country's reform strategy for general and secondary education. A booklet on the strategy explains: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/zagalna%20serednya/Book-ENG.pdf
• For governments and schools in countries hosting children displaced from Ukraine (including educational programs and textbooks): https://refugee-ed.sqe.gov.ua/for-governments/
• Policy guidance on supporting the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in education: considerations, key principles and practices: https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/resources/publications/policy-guidance-on-refugees.htm

The European Training Foundation (ETF) is an agency of the EU which cooperates closely with Ukraine in developing its human capital development (HCD) system, paying special attention to vocational education and training and lifelong learning.  Every two years, ETF assesses the country’s progress. Its latest report can be found here: POLICIES FOR HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE | ETF (europa.eu)

A further ETF report covering key developments in the country’s education, training and employment in 2021 is here: CFI_Ukraine_2021.pdf (europa.eu) 

Ukraine has an extensive higher education sector, and more than 60% of younger people have completed tertiary education. Ukraine is fully part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), commonly called the Bologna Process, so that its higher education institutions participate alongside those from all the other member countries.  Universities are reforming their curricula and qualifications to adhere to European practices.

Qualifications for higher education include Junior bachelor (EQF level 5), Bachelor (EQF level 6), Master's degree (EQF level 7) and Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Arts and Doctor of Science (EQF level 8).

Ukraine is currently preparing to link its qualifications framework in higher education to the EHEA framework. It has prepared a report, which describes how the country is moving towards meeting the criteria, and provides much useful information on the country’s higher education system: 

• національна рамка кваліфікацій | Міністерство освіти і науки України (mon.gov.ua) 
• Річні звіти – Національне агентство із забезпечення якості вищої освіти (naqa.gov.ua)

• The self-certification report on the alignment of Ukraine's its qualifications framework in higher education to the EHEA framework is here: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-EN-10.11-1.pdf
• A graphic of HE qualifications in the NQF is at: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-dodatok.2-EN-10.11-1.pdf
• A comparison of Ukraine's level descriptors against those for the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area is given in this graphic: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-dodatok.3-EN-10.11.pdf

NQFs are tools to organise qualifications, to make them easier to find and identify, understand and use. Some countries, including Ukraine, also use NQFs to modernise their qualifications so that they are more useful to the people who acquire them and to employers. Ukraine is reforming its qualifications on EU lines.  The Ukrainian National Qualifications Framework is visually represented at this link: Education system of Ukraine (enic.in.ua)

 More information about Ukrainian NQF and qualification system can be found at:

• The National Qualifications Agency: https://nqa.gov.ua/   Contact: nqa@nqa.gov.ua
• ETF NQF inventory chapter - Ukraine (NQF implementation country progress report)
• The self-certification report on the alignment of Ukraine's its qualifications framework in higher education to the EHEA framework is here: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-EN-10.11-1.pdf
• A graphic of the NQF is available: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/01/NRKU-hrafika-EN.22.04.22.jpg
• The NQF descriptors are at: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-dodatok.1-EN-10.11-1.1.pdf
• A graphic of HE qualifications in the NQF is at: https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/nrk/2021/11.10/01/Zvit.pro.samosertyfikatsiyu.NRK-dodatok.2-EN-10.11-1.pdf

The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU mentions the establishment of an NQF to improve transparency and recognition drawing on EU experience. Ukraine is still outside the EQF, but its NQF was compared with the EQF through a dialogue. The comparison covers many aspects, including the levels, use of learning outcomes, quality assurance etc.

Here  you can find the comparison report.

Ukraine is a member of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which governs recognition of higher education qualifications in more than 50 countries across Europe.  So, Ukrainian qualifications should therefore be recognised by organisations in other European countries, including EU Member States, unless there is a substantial difference between the qualification presented and its equivalent in the EU country. Receiving countries should be flexible in interpreting qualifications when documents are missing.

If you wish to know about Ukrainian academic qualifications, go to the site:  https://enic.in.ua/index.php/en/  Contacts: centre@enic.in.ua

The ENIC-NARIC network is preparing guidelines to support Member States in the recognition of academic qualifications, including the recognition of credits where students left Ukraine with unfinished studies. Further guidance is also available in the European manual of Recognition and the ECTS User Guide. 

Recognition of Ukrainian qualifications: https://www.enic-naric.net/ukraine-2022.aspx

This includes national resources related to recognised educational programmes and curricula.

• General secondary education framework curricula and subject programmes  
• Register of accredited higher education programmes: NAQA.Registry

This section contains national education classifications which categorize qualifications and educational programmes, and the national classification of occupations.

• List of fields of knowledge and specialities for higher education (national educational classifier)
• List of occupations for skilled workers training in VET education and training institutions
• National Classifier of occupations

Standards

• Register of Occupational standards:  Відомості про професійні стандарти (nqa.gov.ua) (used in developing professional qualifications)
• General secondary education state standards
• VET standards: https://mon.gov.ua/ua/osvita/profesijno-tehnichna-osvita/reforma-profesijnoyi-osviti/zmist-profesijnoyi-osviti-osvitni-standarti-programi-informaciya-dlya-uchniv-ta-pedagogiv/derzhavni-standarti-navchalni-plani-ta-programi
• Database of VET standards (vocational and continuing vocational education qualifications)
• Database of professional pre-higher education standards (Professional Junior Bachelor, higher VET, EQF level 5)
• Database of higher education standards (used in developing higher education qualifications)

Individual credentials and accredited providers are listed in the Unified State Electronic Database on Education. The Database includes:

• register of educational establishments (accredited providers) https://registry.edbo.gov.ua/
• register of issued educational credentials https://info.edbo.gov.ua/edu-documents/
• register of independent external certificates which can provide access to Higher education institutions https://info.edbo.gov.ua/zno-certs
• register of student cards https://info.edbo.gov.ua/student-tickets/
• register of certified teachers https://info.edbo.gov.ua/pedagog-certs/

Prior to the war, Ukraine’s economy was already increasingly integrated with the EU’s, and it was one of the major countries of origin of new labour migrants arriving in the European Union.

EN etf_skills_and_migration_country_fiche_ukraine_2021_en.pdf (europa.eu)

Infographics (EN only): ETF_Migration_infographic_Ukraine_v2 (europa.eu)

An increasing number of workers in Ukraine, known as platform workers, are involved in online work for clients in the European Union, facilitated by digital and language skills and good internet connections. ETF produced a study, available at: platform_work_ukraine_0.pdf (europa.eu)

ILO conducted initial assessment of the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the world of work: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---europe/---ro-geneva/documents/briefingnote/wcms_844295.pdf 

KEY POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT – UKRAINE 2023

This section provides information on initiatives from EU services to support Ukrainians in accessing education and training and entering the labour market.

The Commission has adopted a Recommendation on the recognition of academic and professional qualifications for people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It will provide Member States' authorities with guidance and practical advice to ensure a quick, fair and flexible recognition process.  Press release: Ukraine: Commission helps professionally qualified refugees access jobs in the EU

Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/554 of 5 April 2022 on the recognition of qualifications for people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Information on cohesion and structural funds:

• Ukraine: €3.4 billion REACT-EU pre-financing to Member States welcoming refugees fleeing Ukraine

• Ukraine: Cohesion funding to support people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

• Official Journal of the European Union
• European Social Fund
  • Projects
  • Shared Management
  • Publications

  • How the ESF can advance migrant integration

Learning mobility of individuals: Ukrainian VET learners can be welcomed quickly by vocational education and training 
institutions with ongoing Erasmus+ KA1 projects, with flexible use of project funding for people with fewer opportunities. 

• Ukrainian teachers and trainers are eligible for teaching and training assignments. 
• Qualified staff can be sent to regions where refugees are accommodated. 

Institutions can invite teachers, trainers and other relevant experts, including Ukrainians,  to join temporarily and support with their expertise organisations hosting refugees. See here.

Additional mechanisms can be used to support and fund the initiatives to accelerate access to training and jobs for Ukrainians in EU:

• The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1089
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/ 
• Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF): https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/funding/asylum-migration-and-integration-funds/asylum-migration-and-integration-fund-2021-2027_en
• Invest EU: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/investeu_en
• Technical Support Instrument: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en