EU Supports Youth Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship in Baranivka Community, Ukraine

19 September 2018

  

Starting from the new academic year of 2018, the schoolchildren of Baranivka amalgamated territorial community (ATC) in Zhytomyr region will have access to new garment-making and wood-working equipment during their vocational training in school workshops. The EU contributed around 700 thousand UAH (21 thousand EUR) to procure 114 different purpose modern equipment items for the Baranivka newly created Craft Co-working Centre.
The main goal is to equip local young people of the community with basic craftsmanship skills, which would be helpful in making livelihood in the organic agricultural sector in the region. This component is being implemented in the framework of the pioneer project “Youth-Driven Organic Business Cluster in Baranivka ATC”. The project is funded by the EU under the Mayor for Economic Growth (M4EG) Initiative and implemented by Baranivka amalgamated community in partnership with the Civil Society Institute (Kyiv).
“The Craft Co-working Centre concept, which we are going to test in Baranivka, can become a real “corner stone” in Ukrainian vocational educational process, where students leaving school will already have some vocational skills under their belt”, mentioned Ms. Oksana Zagorska, Head of the Project. “All other community members will also have an opportunity to work on the new sewing-machines and wood-working devices for a nominal fee. They will make clothing or wood handicrafts for sale”, stated Ms. Zagorska.
Apart from the modern equipment, the Baranivka’s Co-working Centre will also get a greenhouse for educational work. The project ‘s partner – Civil Society Institute – has already purchased a construction for its installation to cover an area of around 125 m2 at the cost of over 180 thousand UAH (5 thousand Euro). Local schoolchildren will use the greenhouse for their lessons and crop research, and grow different exotic or garden plants for sale.
It is expected, that a new entrepreneurship-oriented school craft curriculum will be developed in Baranivka. Local young people will set up at least 10 new businesses in the field of organic production. As a result, new job opportunities in the private and public sectors will emerge in the region, new investment will be attracted, and other amalgamated communities in Ukraine will follow Baranivka model.
The M4EG pioneer project “Youth-Driven Organic Business Cluster in Baranivka ATC” is one of six projects to be implemented in Ukraine by Signatories to the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative. Total budget for the initiative is EUR 1,015,000, out of which the EU will contribute EUR 795,754. The duration of the project is around 3 years.