Decentralized Management of Skills Training Project was initiated in 2005 by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine (State Employment Centre), the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of Ukraine and two Canadian partners, namely the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology. The project also relies on such Ukrainian partners as Regional State Administrations and Employment Centres of all regions of Ukraine. Project (2005 - 2012) is implemented with the financial assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The project is targeted at improving the efficiency of skills training in Ukraine. It supports efforts of the Ministry of Social Policy and Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports in coordinating training supply with demand across economic and government sectors as represented by a wide variety of national and regional stakeholders in Ukraine’s skills training system. The project also implements decentralized mechanisms of financial and administrative management to assist in improving the skills training system in Ukraine. Establishing active partnerships between training institutions, employers and the community at large is an important project component, targeted at developing more efficient skills training programs.

During the first phase (2005 - 2009) DMSTP initiated a series of innovative reforms in skills training system leading to higher autonomy of the skills training institutions and decentralization of the decision making process. Namely, the project has introduced systemic changes to the following key areas of the system: institutional management; program development; instructor skills upgrading; gender equality and social equity. These new management mechanisms have been successfully piloted in three diverse regions -Zakarpattya, Rivne and Dnipropetrovsk. As a result, School Advisory Boards, Program Advisory Committees, school business planning, graduate tracer studies, employers’ participation in curricula validation and program development, instructors’ in-service training on employer sites, new gender policy mechanisms at the school level are now widely utilized across the skills training system.

The project played a key role in raising the national level of awareness about the issues existing in the skills training system and ways to resolve them – the system finally moved from perpetual complaints regarding poor legislation and funding to finding specific, effective, low-cost and timely solutions to improve, serve real community and industry needs.

The project built one of the most important assets that will bring to the achievement of a long-term impact – partnerships - between schools and industries, between various Ukrainian regions, government and private sector institutions.

The second phase of the project (2010 - 2012) is critical to the success of the progressive changes started by MES. It builds upon the results achieved to-date and sets the stage for nation-wide reform of the adult retraining system – with individual training institutions having the responsibility and capacity for identifying and responding to local and regional level labour market needs in skills training. 

Capacity building at the regional management level is identified by MESYS and MOSP as the critical input necessary for a decentralized system to succeed in Ukraine. Current activities of the extension stage focused on oblast and institutional level and on capacity building to the regional governments and regional skills training authorities.

Significant emphasis is placed on development of training programs for skills training managers that are focused on employer-driven planning; employer-driven program development and delivery; expanding partnerships with communities and industry to ensure the adoption of efficient and relevant skills training programs on a demand driven basis.