From May 29 to 31, with the support of the EdUP project, a training titled “The Art of Planning: How to Make Career Development Centers Effective” was held for representatives of vocational education institutions across Ukraine. A total of 27 professionals responsible for developing Career Development Centers (CDCs) in their institutions took part in the event.
EdUP promotes the creation and strengthening of CDCs to support graduates in entering the labor market successfully. Strengthening leadership and planning capacity is a key step in building an effective and resilient nationwide network of such centers.
Over the course of three days, participants:
Learned the principles of strategic, tactical, and operational planning for CDCs;
Created templates for annual activity plans and resource maps for their centers;
Studied approaches to monitoring, quality management, and data-driven decision-making;
Practiced stakeholder engagement and mapping techniques;
Improved team-building skills, role distribution, and internal communication.
📌A special focus during the training was placed on project initiatives that enhance collaboration between vocational institutions and businesses to better support graduates on their career path.
Yana Kochuhura, Head of the “Private Sector Engagement” line of the EdUP project, presented a series of practical tools developed together with business partners. These include: organizing professional skills competitions, arranging company visits, supporting workplace mentorship, and promoting the “Junior” platform to facilitate graduate employment. These initiatives not only expand career development opportunities for youth but also help build lasting partnerships between education and the private sector — a key factor in improving graduate employability.
This type of cooperation reflects the mission of CDCs: to support each learner on their path toward career fulfillment and successful employment.
Maintaining strong alumni relations and tracking graduates’ early career trajectories is another vital function of CDCs.
Inna Chornomorets, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, and Olga Korovyachuk, Project Expert, shared practical tools to help institutions effectively monitor graduate employment outcomes. Using real examples from EdUP’s implementation, participants saw how a monitoring system functions and received guidance on collecting and analyzing data to inform CDC strategy and planning.
Key takeaways from the session:
Data-driven decision-making is a hallmark of a modern, responsive organization.
In data collection, quality is more important than quantity.
A structured monitoring and analytics system enables CDCs not only to assess their performance, but also to respond proactively to labor market needs — ensuring the best possible start for graduates.
Victoria Rudyk, Head of the “Institutional Development of VET Institutions” line of the EdUP project, concluded the training by encouraging CDC leaders to keep moving forward, stay open to innovation, apply new knowledge and tools in their daily work, build strong teams and partnerships, and remain focused on the needs of their students — helping them confidently begin their professional journeys.
