3,000 young people and 200 educational institutions from 22 regions of Ukraine signed up for the first National Job Shadowing Week to learn more about future employment in Ukrainian companies. Moreover, 17 employers are involved in the lunch of the Job Shadowing Week, who are ready to hire young people, train them and keep them in Ukraine for the sake of common growth.
Thanks to this programme, young people will be able to see the real picture of the labour market and how the employment process is organised, get the opportunity to responsibly and consciously prepare for future careers, respond to changes in employer requirements and develop necessary skills and plan future careers in Ukraine.
Job Shadowing Week is implemented by Career Hub and the Centre for CSR Development in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
Marina Saprykina, Head of the Centre for CSR Development:
“One of the main reasons why we decided to do Job Shadowing Week is the fact that 33% of young people in Ukraine work outside their degree field. Before graduating from educational institutions, students do not always understand which job to choose next, because there is a lack of practical experience during their studies. And that’s why we decided to dedicate this week to first-year students so that they can look at their future jobs in practice. Job Shadowing Week is win-win cooperation for Ukrainian business, educational institutions and young people.”
Maryna Popatenko, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine:
“Combining the wishes of employers with the needs of educational institutions and students is what makes the Pact for Youth platform so relevant and important. Our cooperation focuses on increasing the level of career guidance of young people, building entrepreneurial skills and competencies of young people as we combine business opportunities and student demands. This is an important part of the National Youth Development Programme until 2025, which aims to increase the participation of young people in public life and attract their economic potential.”
Job Shadowing Week is included in the All-Ukrainian Week of Vocational and Career-Level Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
Ihor Harbaruk, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine:
“The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine always welcomes the introduction of new career guidance practices and is ready to support them. This is important because the key thing we need to give students is the ability to make informed choices. Today, 80% of school leavers enter the university without understanding their future profession, which then leads to work outside their degree field, as shown by statistics. Observational training is one of the most effective ways to learn more about the labour market and future specialty.
Pavlo Zamostian, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund:
“The young person of the future should not just work, but work effectively. The labour market is changing and transforming rapidly, so 5 years of training can actually mean a change in the skills prioritised by employers. Therefore, such new models of career guidance and the combination of businesses and youth should respond to change in a timely manner and help students find themselves in Ukrainian companies. We hope that these models will find evaluation and approval among the relevant departments of educational processes and will become annual and traditional for the development of young people.”
Youth Week in Ukraine will take place in two formats, offline and online. Young people can visit companies, hear the success stories of the employees, get advice on building their careers.
Educational institutions signed up groups according to the opportunities offered by the companies, so this time, the focus is on economic directions (Management, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange, Economics, Business). However, there are also production, hospitality and legal directions such as Hotel and Catering Business, Tourism, Electrical Engineering, Food Industry, Law, Computer Engineering, etc.
The key advantage for companies is to come to know educational institutions that are interested in their field and further provide them with opportunities for professional development in their regions. This is an opportunity to prevent the outflow of young people abroad, as well as to get young workers with the skills already tailored to these companies.
Companies that joined Job Shadowing Week:
Decathlon Ukraine
Reikartz Hotel Group
Arzinger
Volyn Youth Centre
Prykarpattyaoblenergo
Lifecell LLC
DTEK
Raiffeisen Bank
Prozorro. Sales
Vox Ukraine
Auchan Ukraine Hypermarket
UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group
Molokiya
Metinvest
EVERLEGAL
Auchan Ukraine Hypermarket
National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service
Youth and the companies will meet on November 23-24. On November 25, educational institutions will fill out feedback forms, and Job Shadowing Week will close on November 26. At the closing event, participants will meet and share their impressions and experiences.
