The second training in Lviv: 5 new vocational education institutions worked out an inclusive route for applicants

Rebuilding a country also has its own route - from the need for personnel to specific skills and jobs. And in vocational education, this route starts with a person: admission → needs assessment → adaptations → on-the-job training → preparation for employment.

On February 23-27, 2026, the second of four planned trainings «Equal Access to Vocational Education: Inclusive Education in Vocational Education Institutions» took place in Lviv. The event was organized by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPWD) together with Christoffel-Blindenmission Christian Blind Mission e.V. (CBM). The training is part of the project «Inclusive Vocational Education: Improving Education for Veterans and People with Disabilities». In total, the project involves 18 pilot vocational education institutions (VEIs).

Opening remarks by the partners

Tetyana Dovbush, GIZ Ukraine's Skills4Recovery Program Implementation Advisor, made an opening speech. She emphasized that reconstruction is impossible without trained people, and vocational education should provide real professional prospects for those who are returning to civilian life, have been displaced by the war, or need affordable training.

«Skills4Recovery supports the development of vocational education as a key resource for recovery. We want institutions to be ready to train and support various applicants - including veterans, people with disabilities and IDPs - and to follow this path to employment,» said Tetiana Dovbush.

Next, Julia Schönborn, CBM's project manager in Ukraine, took the floor. She emphasized that CBM has been working on the inclusion of people with disabilities around the world for many years, and this training is especially important for Ukraine now, when veterans are returning to civilian life and looking for new professional opportunities.

«Don't be afraid to ask questions and talk about where you lack confidence. Learning to be inclusive is a process, and open, honest dialog is very important,» Julia Sjönborn emphasized.

Svitlana Petrusha, project coordinator of the NAIA, outlined the practical focus of the training series: to help institutions move from intentions to solutions - how to organize admission without barriers, identify needs, plan support and adaptations, ensure safe practice and prepare for employment.

Who joined: 5 new institutions

This time, teams from five schools took part in the training:

• Hlyboka Professional Lyceum
• Municipal Institution “Vinnytsia Professional College of Digital Technologies and Entrepreneurship” of Vinnytsia Regional Council
• State Vocational Training Institution “Dnipro Center for Vocational Education”
• Odesa Center for Vocational Education“
• Kharkiv Center for Vocational Education of the State Employment Service

How we worked: two modules - one standard in the institution

The training was designed to ensure that inclusive approaches worked as a single standard in the institution, both in management and in education:

• the first two days - management teams (executives and administrators): rules, procedures, process organization;
• the next three days - pedagogical teams (teachers and apprenticeship masters): tools to support learning, practice and preparation for employment.

What we worked on: briefly and to the point

The program was practical, with exercises, group work, and case studies. The participants worked out:

• A modern approach to disability: barriers, stereotypes, the role of language and interaction;
• versatile design, accessibility and smart adaptation;
• how to plan support through teamwork and interaction with community resources;
• Self-assessment of the inclusiveness of VET as a quality management tool;
• workshops on adaptations and modeling of the “applicant's route” in real situations.

As a result of the training, each team has developed priority steps that can be launched right away: updating the admission and communication procedures, mechanisms for recording needs, approaches to adaptations in training and practice, and internal distribution of roles in the team.

According to the participants, the training provided a clear understanding of inclusion as a process with steps and practical solutions that can be implemented immediately. They also noted that it was not only about tools, but also about a culture of respect and support in the institution.

«The training was a kind of rethinking of my daily teaching practice. We talked not only about rights and opportunities, but also about the dignity of every person. The training reminded me that inclusion is not about individual students, but about the culture of the institution, respect and support. I returned to my team with the conviction that change starts with us,» said the training participant.

What is Next

The series of trainings continues: there are two more trainings ahead for other pilot EI to scale up the approach in different regions. The following material contains short profiles of the five institutions: what challenges they faced in Lviv and what solutions they are ready to implement first.

The project “Inclusive Vocational Education and Training (VET): Improving Training for Veterans and People with Disabilities” is being implemented by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAPD), jointly with Christoffel-Blindenmission Christian Blind Mission e.V. (CBM), with financial support from the European Union, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark as part of the Skills4Recovery Multi-Donor Initiative, which is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL).