The rating results will be posted on a special website
 
Source: Donetskiye novosti newspaper
 
SCM's Foundation for Development of Ukraine launches a new ambitious project "Ukraina Professionalnaya" [Professional Ukraine] aiming to establish the most effective mechanisms of interaction between higher education establishments and employer companies, so that the higher education establishments train the specialists who are in demand. The first step is to rate the higher education establishments.
 
The new project of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine was announced by Director Anatoliy Zabolotny. Roundtable "Mechanisms of interaction between educational system and employers in preparation of professional staff for the labor market" organized by the Foundation in tandem with Bureau of Economic and Social Technologies (BEST) and supported by the World Bank was held in Kiev within the project "Ukraina Professionalnaya".
 
The participants of the roundtable discussed issues of marketability of graduates' professional training, quality of educational programs, external estimate of graduates as well as existing and possible options for partnership of education establishments and businesses in preparation of professional staff. "Presently, the problem of compliance of educational system with the rapidly growing labor market requirements is very topical, however, there is no solution of the problem now, and all attempts to solve it are merely proclaimatory. The partnership presently existing in Ukraine between the higher education establishments and the employers may not substitute the state educational system. Our objective is to initiate reforms by demonstrating the real situation in the professional training area, and it can be achieved by developing rating criteria for the higher education establishments from the perspective of a school leaver and employer. "We hope the results of the competition will help the school leavers 2007 make an adequate choice and the higher education establishments realize the necessity of partnership relations with employers " Mr. Zabolotny stated.
 
The higher educational establishments will be rated under the following criteria: interaction with employers, demand for graduates of higher educational establishments at the labor market, career of graduates of higher educational establishments at the labor market, degree of satisfaction of employers with professional education of graduates.
 
The deadline for applications is scheduled for May 10, 2007. The results of competition will be announced before June 15, 2007.
 
Foundation for Development of Ukraine is a non-profitable organization founded by SCM Group on July 15, 2005.
 
The budget of the Foundation is financed by SCM Company. The areas of activity of the Foundation include contemporary education, health of the nation and cultural heritage.
 
The projects of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine are being implemented in seven Oblasts of Ukraine (Kyivskaya, Lvovskaya, Zakarpatskaya, Kharkovskaya, Luganskaya, Dnepropetrovskaya and Donetskaya Oblasts) and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

11.04.07