Poltava Higher Interregional Vocational School has been training plumbers for almost 10 years. Over this time, the institution has gained a good reputation among local employers. This is because the school takes care to ensure that the content of education meets the needs of the labour market and develops international partnerships.
The school team opened a licence to train installers of sanitary systems and equipment in 2016. It was then that the school was selected for the first phase of the project to improve plumbing education.
The Ukrainian-Swiss project funded the creation of a training and practice centre for plumbers at the VET school. At the same time, they began to develop training materials for students and improve the skills of teachers who teach plumbing. Lyubov Kisil, senior vocational instructor of the Poltava Higher Interregional Vocational School, explains how this has affected the quality of training for plumbing students.
On the training centre
Thanks to the project’s support, the institution was able to purchase materials and equipment to equip the training and practice centre.
“Our training and practical centre has a very high-quality, modern content. For example, there are different types of radiators, showers, underfloor heating samples, and water heaters. The students have the opportunity to practice all the necessary skills, which is sometimes equivalent to on-the-job training at an enterprise. The logistical facilities update also affects the career guidance process. When applicants and their parents come to the Open Doors events and see the centre and the fact that it is not a showcase, but a real training facility, the question of the quality of training is closed by itself. Since we have been involved in the project, the recruitment of plumbers has been going smoothly,” explains Lyubov Kisil.
On the training of students
Each year, the school recruits several groups of plumbers from among school leavers in grades 9 and 11. The training is integrated with other professions. Applicants with a basic secondary education are offered additional training as electric and gas welders, and those with a general secondary education as plasterboard installers. In addition, the VET school offers inclusive training, including in construction professions. This includes training for people with hearing impairments. In just a few years, they can become an integrated plumber and plasterboard installer.
“When teenagers find out that they can learn two interconnected professions at once, their interest in enrolling increases. Firstly, after graduation, they can work in the profession that best suits their preferences. Secondly, their chances of getting a job automatically double. Employers are always interested in integrated training. For example, students are currently undergoing an internship at Poltava Teploenergo. The company's tutors can assign trainees tasks involving both welding and plumbing, because the students have knowledge of both professions,” says the school's senior master.
Lyubov Kisil adds that the war has had a major impact on businesses’ ability to hire apprentices and pay them. Before the war, students received good money for their internships, and were more often invited to work. Now the situation on the labour market has become more complicated.
At the same time, the institution engages students in tasks that are close to industrial practice. For example, in order to start the school year offline, the school began to refurbish the shelter. At the time the work began, the shelter had already been connected to water and sewage, but the networks were outdated. Under the supervision of the master, the plumbing students were able to replace the old metal water pipes with new polypropylene ones, and installed a water tank, sinks and other equipment.
On preparing for the admission campaign
Previously, the institution actively visited local schools and held meetings with primary and high school students. After the start of the pandemic, and later the full-scale war, it became more difficult to hold such events live.
The school managed to create a team of vocational school ambassadors: graduates and students actively tell their friends about the conditions of study at the school, the benefits of a working profession, and career opportunities. Some alumni join online meetings with local schoolchildren to share their positive impressions of studying at the school.
On teacher training
One of the strengths of the EdUP project is its systematic work, including the professional development of teachers.
“The project provides tremendous professional development. When our master of industrial training came back from educational and practical conferences, he brought brochures, samples of plumbing products, and teaching materials. Thanks to EdUP, he attended plumbing exhibitions and professional skills competitions. After such events, I had many ideas for the development of a training centre for plumbers,” says Lyubov Kisil.
The school says that one of its teachers has more than 25 years of experience and, without exaggeration, knows the plumbing business perfectly. In addition to teaching at the school, he works as a plumber at the Poltava Vodokanal. During the period of the institution’s participation in the first and second phases of the project, the teacher was able to increase his real-world experience and undergo a thorough professional development. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, he has been mobilised into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“We keep in touch with our colleague, because over the years of working together we have become like a big Proftech family. The loss, even temporary, of such a master is very significant. We have found a replacement for a while, but we hope that soon the occupiers will leave Ukrainian soil and he will be able to return to his favourite plumbing business,” says Lyubov.
What are your wishes for the EdUP project?
The Poltava Higher Interregional Vocational School knows from their own experience how important it is to constantly update teachers’ knowledge. Therefore, the institution hopes to continue various trainings and conferences from EdUP. In addition, they would like to be supported with consumables for the practical training of students.
Since the educational standard for the profession of plumbing and equipment installer was updated last year, in particular with the participation of EdUP experts, the institution would like to receive updated teaching materials for teaching theory.
***
The Public-Private Partnership to Improved Plumbing Education (EdUP) is a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in partnership with Geberit Trading LLC, implemented by Swisscontact Foundation for Technical Cooperation and supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.