Thirty-four representatives of Ukraine’s vocational education system have gathered from 16 to 20 February at the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Turin for a peer learning visit focused on Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE). The initiative, jointly organised by the ETF and the Belgian development agency Enabel, aimed to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian institutions to design and implement vocational excellence models aligned with European standards.
Participants included officials from the Ministry of Education and Science, directors of vocational schools from across Ukraine, and representatives of local authorities and expert organisations involved in pilot CoVE initiatives. Over the week, they worked on governance, management, financing models and practical tools, and translate these elements into a strategic approach tailored to the Ukrainian context.
The visit comes at a time when Ukraine is pushing forward education reforms, including a new VET law adopted in September 2025, while also preparing for long-term reconstruction after the end of Russia’s aggression to Ukraine.
For more insights, please read the blog: https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/news-and-events/news/ukraines-vocational-education-community-teams-etf-and-enabel-toward-eu
Learning from practice in Italy and beyond
The Ukrainian delegation visited several Italian institutions considered examples of vocational excellence. These included the ITS Academy for Sustainable Mobility, the ENGIM training network and the Piazza dei Mestieri foundation (see attached the article from La Stampa, famous newspaper in Turin), and the internationally recognised Cometa Formazione centre in Como.
The visits gave participants the opportunity to observe how partnerships with companies, local authorities and social actors are translated into training programmes, career guidance and innovation.
For more information on site visits and the sessions in ETF, please see attached the related presentations.
Beautiful Masterpiece. Thanks million Loretta & to everyone !
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