A reflection of the emphasis Ukraine is putting on skills development may be seen in the decision by a major international mobile phone app and games developer, Gismart, to open its latest global office in Kyiv.
Although not strictly related to the reforms giving greater autonomy to the regions to pursue targeted vocational education and training policies, the decision of the tech company to move to Ukraine demonstrates the increasing confidence international companies have in skills the country offers.
The tech company[1] is a leading developer of what are known as "idle games" - industry jargon for the sort of simple smartphone games millions play ever day as they commute to work or take a break.
With as many as 500 million individual downloads for games such as security adventure, "VIP Guard", insect nest-building challenge, "Little Ant", or soccer game "Cool Goal!" the company's 200 designers and developers serve a market in which individual games have as many as 20 MUA (million active users) - an industry benchmark for mobile phone app performance.
"In the last four years, Gismart has shown significant growth as a business, hiring the best talents," says Lana Meisak, vice-president, Business Development and Marketing at Gismart.
The Ukrainian market - and in particular Kyiv - offers a "great talent pool of specialists, such as game producers, developers and artists," she says, adding that Ukrainian government moves to develop the country's digital economy and create a more business-friendly environment for tech companies had been a factor in its decision to open the Kyiv office.
Although games developers are trained at a university level, the recent developments in Ukrainian vocational education and training were also something the company had noted.
"This is also a transformative time for the Ukrainian education system, as the tech market grows and tomorrow's businesses will face a shortage of specialists," Ms Meisak adds.
"To create a win-win situation for both companies and the country, the Ukrainian government needs to facilitate some changes to the education system fast to take advantage of the growing market.
"Young talent equipped with the right support and tools will be able to utilise their skill-set and contribute to the huge potential of the country's innovation industries, particularly the digital entertainment industry, including mobile games, which is one of the fastest growing mobile niches today."
Viktoria Karbysheva, Head of the Expert Group, Vocational Education and Training Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science says that further developments in skills training are already underway in the country.
Ms Karbysheva, who is also the country coordinator for the European Training Foundation's Torino Process - its flagship evidence-based tool for assessing progress in VET system reform - says that a policy of devolving greater autonomy to skills training providers across Ukraine's 25 regions (including the capital Kyiv) in recent years, had given greater flexibility to meet local labour market needs.
She says adds that is it not only the tech industry that is benefitting from Ukraine's devolved approach to VET.
The success of a regional approach to VET - where greater flexibility at the grassroots can offer a more agile skills training response to the needs of commerce and industry - proves that by giving greater autonomy to regions that have diverse labour market needs, economic development may be supported nationally.
Although VET schools are not directly involved in training mobile game developers, devolution in skills training is driving development in other industries that are also attracting international attention.
"The system of vocational is now beginning to develop in harmony with the economy of a region, taking into account specifics regional factors," says Ms Karbysheva.
Examples of such flexibility include the highly urbanized, service oriented region of Lviv, where today the regional needs of the hotel, tourist, restaurant and hospitality industries are provided for by a network of VET institutions that train students to such a high standard that they are in demand not only in Ukraine, but Europe as well.
"In Zaporozhye region - with its concentration of heavy industry - metal working, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical and electrical engineering are all key areas of focus for the professional education network," she adds.
It is through such regional reforms that the Ministry of Education and Science is helping ensure that trainees across the country can become "sought-after specialists in the labour market," Ms Karbysheva says.
"The main task is to create a vocational education system that is effective and meets the needs of the labour market, updates content and improves the quality of skills training, and the attractiveness of vocational education."
The ETF's Torino Process is a tool for policy analysis that helps those involved in the delivery of policy reforms in VET to find the "optimal solution," she adds.
By Nick Holdsworth
[1] Gismart has offices in London, Minsk, Beijing and now Kyiv
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