Ukrainian business expects independence, responsibility and communication skills from graduates - experts

The transition from mainly theoretical education to the formation of independence, responsibility, critical thinking and practical competences should become one of the priorities of the transformation of Ukrainian education. This was announced by representatives of educational institutions, businesses and students.

"According to research, 70% of teenagers aged 13-16 cannot name their desired profession, only 3% have internship experience, 7% have met with career counselors. Humanistic culture, which must be instilled in young people, is directly related to this. This is the holistic development of a person through education, work, culture, science, moral responsibility and openness to the world. Our goal is to prepare not only a person who has a profession, but a person who is able to consciously realize himself in his profession, create value and contribute to the development of society", - emphasized the director of the Business Education Center of the Institute of Psychology and Entrepreneurship Maria Furman at a round table at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday.

Head of the Department of International Development and Partnerships of the IPP Iryna Khomenko, in turn, emphasized the importance of a humanistic and ontopsychological approach to education and personality development.

"Transferring knowledge is a fundamental, but not the only task of education. Institutions of secondary and higher education work with a person during the period when his identity is being formed, ideas about himself, his own capabilities, professional and life orientations are being formed. And the responsibility for this process is much broader than the formation of professional competences," she added.

Director of the Vocational College of Management and Psychology Tetyana Harets linked the difficulties of teenagers' communication with the war and distance learning. Currently, the college operates the Start Week and Team Challenge programs, project-based training based on EduScrum and Agile approaches, the IPP COIN motivation system, and students create a mini-company in the OpenSpace business laboratory.

"Traditional report card simply shows the grades a student receives for an academic discipline. It will not tell you anything about whether the student has learned to coordinate the actions of people, make decisions, respond to feedback or take responsibility for a joint result. That is why we created an individual portfolio of a student - a consistent history of a person's development, and not just a folder with certificates," explained Harets.

The head of the sales department of the DMNTR media holding, Oleksandr Strukov, noted that companies can teach technical skills, but they expect candidates to be sociable and ready to develop.

"If we talk about what business wants from candidates, it is now far from just technical aspects. This is leadership potential, own resource potential and soft skills. I am sure that any business cannot do without communication," the employer emphasized.

Entrepreneur, partner of the BOARD community in Kolomyia, Yuriy Skilskyi called initiative, learning, stress resistance and responsibility the key factors in the development of modern education and called for stronger mentoring from the business side.

"I suggest that business representatives come to young people more often and share their experience. You can organize visits to companies so that they can see everything with their own eyes. It is important for us, entrepreneurs, to support young people and reveal their potential," Skilsky emphasized.

In turn, HR director of the technological holding Olga Bondarenko singled out the desire for development, independent thinking, responsibility and the ability to create value. She added that in the defense technology industry, the security of the country may depend on the decisions of the employee.

"Responsibility is formed primarily through practical experience, due to the opportunity to make a choice, due to the need to make a decision, due to awareness of its consequences and, of course, due to mistakes. But here I want to draw a clear line: the right to make a mistake is not the right to be irresponsible. A mistake becomes an experience when you are able to recognize it, analyze it and change your further actions," the expert emphasized.

Tetyana Spivakovska, candidate of economic sciences, assistant professor of the Institute of International Studies, deputy director of the Sofia Academy in Dubai, said that thanks to the recognition of the results of studies abroad, the academy managed to add more than 30 students to the Ukrainian education system in one year.

"For Ukrainian institutions of higher education, this means a fundamental change in the competitive environment. They are now competing for a young person in the global educational space. It is necessary to create unique educational offers, ensure high quality of teaching, develop international partnerships and modern infrastructure," said Spivakovska.

Head of the 3S AGENCY recruiting agency Nataliya Shumska warned against replacing independent thinking with the search for ready-made answers. According to her, the IPP publishing project translated and published five books by Antonio Meneghetti in Ukrainian during the year. Artificial intelligence is able to explain a complex topic, prepare an outline, write an essay - these are huge opportunities. But if opinions, arguments, or conclusions are increasingly formulated for a person, does he not risk gradually losing the habit of doing it on his own?" - Shumska added.

IP students Anna Sytnyk and Nataliya Kozlovska talked about practical work and mentoring. Kozlovska, who also supervises first-year college students, emphasized the importance of ontopsychological pedagogy in working with young people.

"I think that the task of education is not just to give knowledge to a person, but also to help him better understand himself. Especially at a young age, we do not always fully understand what we want, what our strengths are and where we can realize ourselves. That is why it is important that education provides not only theoretical knowledge, but also the opportunity to try yourself in different directions, work on practical tasks, make decisions and see the results of your work," the student said.

IPP graduate, head of the development and innovation department of 3S AGENCY Serhii Andriichenko noted the Work and Study program, which combines study with work, and emphasized the value of the educational community.

"The institute forms leaders of a new generation, but a leader cannot be raised by lectures alone. It is formed by the environment. This is the Work and Study program, a theoretical base, live meetings with entrepreneurs, optional classes, professional events, activities and a student community," he emphasized.

In conclusion, Maria Furman announced the international platform IPE Leader 2027 with an annual program of more than 20 events for youth, educators and business.

"This is an international platform that unites education, business, science, leadership and humanistic culture. We invite young people and representatives of business, culture and science to join this platform. This is a large annual program that will include intellectual activities, lectures by scientists, speakers and business teachers," Furman said.

According to her, a hackathon for youth aged 15 and over is planned for October 23-24, and the Ukrainian Leadership Forum will start in November, the participants of which will propose social projects for schools and communities, form teams and present the results in May 2027. The IPE Leader 2027 award was also announced for May in ten categories for youth, scientists, philanthropists and business.

The opening of the platform is scheduled for October 23.  The organizers invite listeners, speakers, companies and public organizations ready to support youth initiatives.