Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery
Equipping people in Ukraine with skills to rebuild lives, careers, and the country.
About Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery
Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery equips people in Ukraine with the skills to rebuild their lives and their country. Young people can obtain a quality education despite the war and actively shape their future, while adults — including women, displaced persons, and veterans — gain opportunities to retrain.
Skills4Recovery is co-financed by the EU, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark. Implemented by GIZ and SFPL, it runs until June 2026 with a total budget of €17 million.
Our activities
Five key areas to strengthen vocational education and training in Ukraine.
Vocational training
We support the development of modern training programmes for new professions and adapt existing ones. VET institutions are also opening their doors to adults who want to retrain or gain new skills, including those most affected by the war.
Policy development
We work with decision-makers to design clear qualification strategies and roadmaps for key sectors. Experience from schools and businesses — in inclusion, digitalization, and cooperation with employers — is feeding directly into reforms such as the VET Law and Ukraine’s Employment Strategy.
Replicating proven training
We share what works. Successful models are scaled up through peer-to-peer exchanges, online seminars, and communication campaigns that show how skills development drives Ukraine’s recovery.
Strengthening VET providers
We help VET schools strengthen and work with businesses to offer training that meets labour market needs, focusing on displaced people, persons with disabilities, veterans, and women. Digital learning is also supported through teacher training, mentoring, and modern equipment.
Career paths
We support people in Ukraine in moving smoothly from school to vocational training and from training to real jobs. Employment services are improving their work to help people find stable employment better.
Regions and providers
● Kyiv Professional College of Information Technologies and Printing
● Kyiv Applied College of Architecture, Construction and Management
● Kyiv Vocational College of Construction and Communal Economy
● Katuzhansky Vocational College
● Skvyra Higher Vocational School
• Applied College of Transport and Computer Technology of Chernihiv Polytechnic National University
• Chernivtsi Higher Vocational School of Radio Electronics
● Hlybotsky Vocational Lyceum
● Chernivtsi Higher Vocational School of Radio Electronics
● Vocational School No. 8, Chernivtsi
● Higher Vocational School No. 24, Chernivtsi
● Chernivtsi Professional Mechanical Engineering Lyceum
● Dnipro Center of Vocational and Technical Education
● Dnipro Industrial Professional College
● Kryvyi Rih Center for Training and Retraining of Workers in Construction Industry
● Kryvyi Rih Center for Vocational Education of Trade and Restaurant Service Workers
● Dnipro Professional College of Engineering and Pedagogy of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology
● Dnipro Center for Vocational and Technical Education of Tourist Services
● Dnipro Applied College of Building and Mounting Technologies and Architecture
● Dnipropetrovsk Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Technological Specialized College of the State University of Economics and Technology, Kryvyi Rih
● Burshtyn Professional College of Power Engineering of Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas
● Ivano-Frankivsk Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Kharkiv Vocational College of Construction and Industry
● Kharkiv Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Regional Center for Vocational Education of Railway Transport and Agricultural Service, Kharkiv
● Khmelnytsky Higher Vocational School No. 25
● Podilskyi Professional College
● Kamyanets-Podilsky Professional College of Industry, Business and Information Technologies
● Kropyvnytsky Engineering Applied College of Central Ukrainian National Technical University
● Interregional High Vocational School of Automobile Transport and Construction, Lviv
● Lviv Higher Vocational School No. 29
● Lviv Higher Vocational School of Computer Technologies and Construction
● Chervonohrad Professional Mining and Construction Lyceum
● Lviv Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Drohobych Higher Vocational School №19
● Higher Professional School №34, Stryi
● Lviv Interregional Higher Vocational School of Railway Transport
● Mykolaiv Vocational Shipbuilding Lyceum, named after Hero of the Soviet Union V.O. Hrechyshnykov
● Novoodesky Vocational College
● Pervomaisky Professional College
● Novo-Odesky Vocational College
● Mykolaiv Higher Vocational School №21
● Odesa Center for Vocational and Technical Education
● Odesa Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Higher Vocational Mining and Construction School, Horichni Plavni city
● Poltava Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Professional College of Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi Kremenchuk National University
● Higher Vocational School №7, Kremenchuk
● I.H. Borovensky Reshetyliv Professional Agrarian Lyceum
● Vocational School No. 44, Poltava
● Myrohoshcha Agrarian Applied College
● Rivne Technical Professional College of the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering
● Rivne Applied College of Information Technologies
● Rivne Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Rivne Higher Vocational School of Restaurant Service and Business
● Higher Vocational School No. 22, Sarny
● Kvasyliv Vocational Lyceum
● Classic Professional College of Sumy State University, Konotop
● Sumy Center of Professional-Technical Education of the State Employment Service
● Konotop Higher Vocational School
● Ternopil Professional College of Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University
● Vinnytsia Interregional Higher Vocational School
● Higher Vocational School No. 41, Tulchyn
● Vinnytsia Interregional Higher Vocational School
● Vinnytsia Higher Vocational School of Services
● Technical Applied College of Lutsk National Techniсal University
● Svalyavsky Vocational College
● Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic Center for Vocational Education
● Zhytomyr Agricultural Technical Professional College
● Zvyagel Polytechnic Vocational College
● Holovyne Higher Vocational School of Non-Mining Technologies
● Korostyshiv Vocational College
Key achievements
Success stories
Liubov and Dmytro Kotsur: Turning Skills into a Family Business
Liubov and Dmytro share a passion for machinery and a dream of running their farm. By joining the training programme supported by Skills4Recovery, they gained vehicle repair skills to help them expand their business, invest in agricultural machinery, and one day create jobs in their community.
Roman and Oleksandr Senchenko: Certified Skills, Bigger Dreams
Brothers Roman and Oleksandr Senchenko turned their late father’s welding craft into a growing enterprise. By completing a short electric and gas welding course under Skills4Recovery, they gained official certification, new technical skills, and the confidence to expand their team and take their family trade to the next level.
Volodymyr Leha: From Veteran to Professional Welder
After returning from military service, Volodymyr Leha sought a new profession and a fresh start. By joining an electric and gas welding course under Skills4Recovery, he gained the professional knowledge he had long dreamed of — and found a career that will contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Olha Ostapenko: Breaking Stereotypes in the Auto Repair Industry
As a single mother and internally displaced person, Olha Ostapenko refused to let stereotypes define her path. Inspired by her grandfather’s passion for cars, she trained as an auto locksmith and is now working towards opening her repair shop.
News
Skills4Recovery Presented Project to Modernize Vocational Training Presented in Burshtyn
A new project to modernize vocational training was presented in Burshtyn under the Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery. The Initiative will update curricula and equip students with modern skills to meet the challenges of Ukraine’s recovery.
Lviv Region Trains Specialists for Modernized Economy
The project of the Chervonohrad Professional Mining and Construction Lyceum has become one of the winners of the grant competition of the Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery. Its implementation marks an important step towards enhancing the quality of vocational education, strengthening cooperation with employers, and preparing young people for the challenges of the modern labour market.
HR Marathon Held in Kyiv
On 25 June 2025, in Kyiv, a three-day Training and Innovation Course for managers and human resources specialists was completed as part of the HR Boost project within Skills4Recovery. Participants included HR specialists representing medium and large companies from Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Chernihiv regions.
Events
Launch of Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery
The kick-off event of the Multi Donor Initiative Skills4Recovery took place on September 20, 2024. The EU, Poland, and Estonia have joined an ongoing programme of the German Government to enhance training opportunities for young people and adults in Ukraine. The support of international partners is driven by Ukraine’s urgent need for skilled workers — to compensate for the daily effects of the war, maintain the country’s resilience, and develop the economy in the future.
Products
Strategy for Transition and Integration of Ukrainian Veterans into Education and Workforce
The strategy was developed by the NGO Ukrainian Marketing Association under the Skills4Recovery programme, involving a wide range of organizations and experts. It has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, and its provisions have been incorporated into the National Strategy for the Development of Inclusive Education until 2029.
The strategy provides recommendations to expand access to quality education, improve employment opportunities, foster veteran entrepreneurship, and strengthen social adaptation. Its implementation will open new paths for professional growth, enhance veterans’ competitiveness in the labour market, reduce unemployment, and support Ukraine’s recovery by engaging veterans in rebuilding the country.
“Education for Veterans” Platform
The “Education for Veterans” platform, developed at the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, offers over 1,620 educational opportunities — from short courses to full study programmes. Designed to meet labour market needs, it features a catalogue of formal and non-formal training with detailed entry requirements, forecasts of in-demand professions through 2027, and an inclusive interface adapted for people with visual impairments. Each programme also includes information on accessibility options for students with special needs.
Website: osvitaveteraniv.gov.ua
Partners
Donors:
● Germany
● European Union
● Poland
● Estonia
● Denmark
Political partners:
● Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
● Ministry of Economy of Ukraine
Implementation agencies:
● Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
● Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL)
Contact
skills4recovery@giz.de