This ETF assessment provided an overview of human capital development issues in Ukraine, and analysed the challenges affecting policy implementation in relation to reforms that were recently launched in education and the VET sector. Following a review of the policy responses to the main challenges, the analysis identified key features of the human capital development system in Ukraine.

The report established that the country has made significant progress in launching much-needed reforms over the last five years, notably in the education sector. However, it noted that economic growth is not yet on a sustainable path and investments are badly needed to create new jobs and increase the productivity of the economy. High educational attainment benefits individuals more than it benefits the economy as a whole. While a significant proportion of the tertiary-educated population has to work in semi-skilled occupations, low demand for VET raises concerns about having a sufficient supply of skills to replace an ageing workforce. The government is strongly focused on addressing declining enrolments and the lack of attractiveness of VET. Brave decisions and long-term commitments will be needed to align the education system with the needs of the labour market. Restructuring institutional networks is an essential task to increase operational efficiencies and get better value for high spending on education.

The results of the analysis point to the ills of the current VET system and suggest potential solutions to address the above-mentioned issues. The report discussed how well VET fits with the overall context of education reform in Ukraine and what needs to be done to make it part of an integrated lifelong learning system. The analysis identified two issues that require immediate action: rethinking VET governance in general and declining participation in VET and its lack of attractiveness. The Ukrainian government is well aware of the challenges and has put in place an ambitious reform agenda to modernise VET. Key policy responses are going in the right direction but better connections between VET and other levels of education are required to achieve sustainable and meaningful results.