Professional orientation : From Moldova to Ukraine: Shaping futures together
The spring sun shines onto the yard of the Vocational School No. 7 in Chișinău. Today, Principal Alexandru Ciobanu is expecting a delegation from Ukraine, as well as familiar faces from the JOBS Moldova project. From 2016 to 2022, the project implemented a programme for professional orientation in grades 8 and 9, later developing teaching materials for the new school subject of Personal Development. The project was a collaboration between the Moldovan Ministry of Education and Research, the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich), and pilot schools in Bãlţi, Chișinău, and Orhei.
Ten years later, experts from the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project, including Ministry representatives and regional school leaders, visit Moldova to learn from the country’s experience. Valentyna Poltorak, project manager of DECIDE and deputy director of the NGO DOCCU, emphasises that this study visit is taking place at a crucial time, given that Ukraine is currently focusing on reforming upper secondary schools with a particular focus on career guidance structures. Career guidance and vocational education are also of great interest to the Kyiv Office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, whose representatives, Martina Ramming and Ilona Postemska, also joined the delegation.
Corinna Borer, who led the JOBS Moldova project on behalf of PH Zurich and is also leading the DECIDE project, expects the structured peer learning of the study visit to deliver insights for both parties. During their visit to a vocational college, a secondary school, the State University of Moldova and the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ukrainian delegation hopes to hear about and learn from the Moldovan experience. How does Moldova align its educational offerings with labour market needs? What measures have they taken to strengthen the attractiveness and quality of vocational pathways? How did they modernise professional orientation services for young people? The questions were many, the exchanges rich.
At the Ion Luca Caragiale School in Orhei, the delegation joined a professional orientation lesson, which raised the question of how schools and local businesses can be brought closer together. Principal Galina Melenciuc recounted that the JOBS project’s professional orientation modules were innovative – and initially controversial – because students had to identify businesses of interest to them, establish contact, and visit them. Ultimately, formats such as JOBS fairs, where businesses present themselves in schools, proved to be successful.
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The team from Vocational School No. 7 in Chișinău was also eager to present their institution. The school wants to dispel the stereotype that vocational schools are for less talented students, and highlighted their successes in professional competitions. Teacher Romana Sotropa noted that career guidance had existed in Moldova before, but an important element was missing: Students were not sufficiently aware of their own skills, competencies and preferences – a gap that the JOBS programme had filled.
This statement resonates with Maksym Podzharyi, the rector of a vocational education college in Chernihiv, Ukraine. In his view, young people who simply follow the suggestions of their parents and friends, or approach a nearby company without much thought, often end up choosing the wrong profession. This makes them less productive, and they often need to retrain later on. He believes that early professional orientation is essential before young people decide which path to take.
After three days of intense exchanges and filled notebooks, the DECIDE delegation boards the bus taking them back to Ukraine. By exchanging each other’s experiences, the school systems in Moldova and Ukraine can provide their students with better opportunities and guidance. Corinna Borer is already looking forward to applying the lessons learned from this exchange to future PH Zurich projects, which will bring together new partners eager to learn from each other.
