From 14 to 17 December 2021, participants of the professional readaptation courses for ATO/JFO veterans and members of the families of fallen service members defended their final projects at Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University.
The training was conducted within the project “Norway–Ukraine. Professional Adaptation. Integration into the State System”, which had been implemented at Zhytomyr Polytechnic for the second consecutive year.
The educational programme took place from 17 September to 15 December 2021 in the speciality 076 “Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities.” After completing the retraining course, participants were to receive a Certificate of Educational and Professional Retraining from Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University.
This semester, the programme involved ATO/JFO veterans and members of the families of fallen service members from seven territorial communities of Zhytomyr region.
CCPA and the project team express their gratitude to Zhytomyr City Council, as well as the heads and representatives of Novohrad-Volynskyi City Council, Malyn City Council, Irshansk Territorial Community, Cherniakhiv Settlement Council, Novohuivynske Settlement Council of Zhytomyr District, and Berezivka Village Territorial Community for their support.
The training also became possible thanks to the decision of the Zhytomyr Regional Council and the support of its Head, Volodymyr Fedorenko.
The project team expresses sincere gratitude for comprehensive support and for the approved procedure for using regional budget funds to implement professional readaptation measures. Special thanks go to Olena Hryshchuk, Director of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of Zhytomyr Regional State Administration; Yurii Prokopets, Head of the Main Department of the National Social Service of Ukraine in Zhytomyr Region; Svitlana Boim, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of Zhytomyr Regional State Administration; and Larysa Aleksiienko, Head of the Department for Social Support of the Population and Participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation / Joint Forces Operation.
Special gratitude is also extended to Volodymyr Rubtsov, President of the International Foundation for Social Adaptation, for his continued support and for enabling the implementation of this project in Zhytomyr region.
CCPA thanks the project coordinators at Zhytomyr Polytechnic — Liudmyla Kalenchuk, Iryna Zhyhlei and Olena Syvak — as well as Volodymyr Lahuta, Head of the Educational and Scientific Centre for the Conversion of Military Personnel and War Veterans of the University, for their work with the participants and their contribution to the development of the project.
During the final defence, the graduates presented business plans for a wide range of entrepreneurial initiatives. These included the creation of a confectionery business, handmade Christmas decorations, 3D products, leather goods, a fast-food establishment, seedling and vegetable cultivation, land reforestation and wood chip production, an urban farm, a clay tableware store, a body care studio, hand-painted shopper bags, a choreography group, an online women’s pyjama store, a poultry farm, an organisation for parachute jump training and implementation, wood processing and raw material production, and website development services.
The final project defence demonstrated the practical value of the programme: participants did not only complete training, but also developed concrete business ideas that can become a foundation for employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship.
CCPA congratulates the graduates on the successful defence of their projects and wishes them successful implementation of their business ideas.
