From Soviet state to independence; how did vocational education and training change? : the case of Ukraine

Abstract

This is a case study of the system of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Ukraine. The main purpose is to describe and analyse the model of Ukrainian vocational education and the changes it underwent through two historically important epochs. There is a particular focus on the role of the state in VET performance and its overall effectiveness. The uniqueness of the case lies at two radically different stages of the country’s development, the era of Soviet Union dominance and the stage of state independence, and the subsequent effect on the development of the vocational system. This study is based on documentary analysis from the two periods. The Ukrainian case is compared to the ‘classic’ models of European VET: the state-bureaucratic, the dual and the market oriented. The main analytical categories are: management and organization, financing, placement, position in the overall education and relation to work life. The findings show that even though Ukraine has changed from being a Soviet nation with strong state ownership and a planned economy to become an independent state with a market economy, there is a strong continuity in the way vocational education and training is organised. The model of VET has modified over the time, albeit preserving the same strong state governing pattern despite drastic changes in socio-political regimes. The transition to a privatised market economy has so far left the Ukrainian VET system with few tools to replace old ones which have shown to be no longer to be effective.