The staff of the Higher Vocational School No. 29 in Volodymyrets did not miss a single training event organised by the Ukrainian-Swiss EdUP project. As a result, during the second phase of the project, the team managed to significantly improve their skills, learn from the experience of the best plumbing professionals and master strategic planning.
The director of the institution, Valerii Borovyk, said that EdUP helped to improve the training centre’s facilities by providing consumables and tools. How did this affect the training of plumbers? Valerii Borovyk tells us the story.
On recruiting and training students
Every year, the school recruits 2 groups of plumbers on the basis of secondary education. There is a room for 60 freshmen in total.
The training of ‘Installers of sanitary systems and equipment’ is integrated with two professions: Electric Welder of Manual Welding and Electrician of Lighting and Lighting Networks. Having three professions at once after graduation, young people can choose the one they like best to build a career. In addition, workers with integrated training are of greater interest to employers. After all, they can assign different types of work to one specialist.
After the opening of the plumbing training and practical centre, the educational institution began to notice that more and more teenagers wanted to become plumbers.
“The interest in the profession is so great that sometimes applicants continue to apply, even though we have exhausted the order limit. In such situations, we offer other construction professions for which we train, and also talk about the possibility of vocational training. Along with their main profession, such students receive a certificate of an installer of plumbing systems,” says Valerii Borovyk.
The new logistical facilities has made it possible to improve the training of students and to start providing paid services, such as advanced training and vocational training.
About adult training
Every year, at least 30 adults undergo plumbing training at the institution. They receive a state-issued certificate of professional qualification.
“Many adults have already realised that specialists with vocational education are more in demand in the labour market. Often, adults from the unemployed population come to us who cannot find a job in their main profession and want to learn a new one to earn an income as soon as possible. We conduct an incoming knowledge test for them, draw up an individual programme and start retraining. In addition, the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is located near the town of Varash. Workers from there come to us for training to upgrade and confirm their category. This is the only way they can get access to certain jobs. So there is a demand for adult training, and we are developing this area,” says the director of the school.
About working with business
Currently, the employment rate of plumbing graduates is 90-100%. To help students find a job, the school systematically cooperates with businesses in Volodymyrets, Varash and the surrounding communities.
Among the vocational school’s partners are, for example, Rivne NPP and Aqua, a utility company that maintains water supply and sewage networks in Volodymyrets. The school also cooperates with private construction companies such as ZakhidBudGarant. The company hires students for internships and also employs graduates.
“We have the most partners among medium-sized businesses. These companies consistently take 1-2 students for internships every year. We manage to provide internships for all students. We see that our students and graduates work at many construction sites in the region,” Valerii notes.
About career guidance
“Last year, EdUP experts developed leaflets for each institution participating in the project. They described the benefits of studying to become a plumber and the job prospects. We printed leaflets and distributed them during open doors events, thematic weeks, and other career guidance events. It was very convenient, so we plan to make such leaflets this year," says the school director.
The school is constantly developing! Recently, they have launched a new initiative: during the school year, they arrange with local school administrations to attend labour training classes. During meetings with 8th, 9th and 11th graders, the vocational instructors give short masterclasses and talk about working professions and their benefits.
“Even a simple exercise, such as soldering polypropylene pipes, can reveal the profession, show what plumbers do and what tools they use. Through such events, we want to get people interested in professions as early as possible and, of course, promote our school in the region,” says the director of Higher Vocational School No. 29 in Volodymyrets.
The VET school representative notes that young people see prospects in the work of a plumber, as such professionals will be in demand in the course of the country’s reconstruction. In addition, teenagers like the fact that they can earn money while studying. Once they have mastered a skill or learned how to perform a certain operation, they can earn extra money outside of school hours.
About writing a business plan
In 2022, EdUP held strategic sessions for the administrations of all the institutions participating in the project. In particular, they had to develop a business development plan for the next 3-5 years.
The business plan of the Higher Vocational School No. 29 in Volodymyrets was aimed at creating working conditions that would keep the institution competitive even during martial law. To achieve this goal, 3 strategic objectives were identified:
- to form a successful team that will be able to implement modern educational programmes;
- to create comfortable and safe learning conditions for students;
- create a single information and educational space for the school - improve the website, equip classrooms and laboratories with interactive technology, introduce electronic journals and diaries, etc.
Working towards the second goal, which is to create comfortable conditions, the school wants to improve the quality of drinking water in the dormitories. To do this, they plan to overhaul the water supply network with a water purification and filtration unit. The school’s team has already started implementing the idea: as part of their on-the-job training, students installed polypropylene pipes that EdUP had previously purchased for the institution. Due to the full-scale war, the work had to be suspended, but the plan is to complete the project as soon as possible.
If the project were to be extended, what would you like to see at EdUP?
The VET school’s staff expects assistance in updating the educational space to ensure that students are trained to a high standard.
“Working with employers, we see that technological re-equipment of facilities at enterprises takes place every 3-5 years. To be progressive, to train competitive workers, education must be ahead of the curve. During the trainings and conferences held by EdUP, teachers learn about market innovations and learn how to work with them properly. However, it is only possible to explain the material to students in a quality manner when there are appropriate training stands, modular complexes, models, and equipment samples. Updating the facilities greatly affects the effectiveness of theoretical and practical training,” says the school director.
In addition, teachers are keen to continue their professional development with EdUP. After all, only by knowing how to work with technology can they pass on knowledge and experience to students. There is also a request for new e-learning materials and mobile applications that students can use without the Internet. The VET school team is ready to join the development of such content.
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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.