The conference took place on the territory of UNIT.City, the first innovation park in Ukraine. It has become an ideal meeting place for the ecosystem of organizations and companies that have been cooperating for many years on the development and promotion of energy efficiency in Ukraine.
At the beginning of the event, Ima Khrenova-Shymkina, Director of the project “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the European Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine”, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, made a welcoming speech. She noted that the project is based on many years of preliminary work and synergies between the partners. Many useful products have been developed in previous years, and this Conference is dedicated to bringing together all stakeholders present in order to spread knowledge and increase energy efficiency change in the country in the coming years, including through the active role of Energy Innovation Hubs and vocational education institutions. Ima Khrenova-Shymkina also congratulated everyone on the adoption of the Law on Energy Efficiency.
The First Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, Vasyl Lozynskyi, joined in with a welcoming speech. He noted that the most important in the adoption of laws – is their implementation in practice in the form of insulated, energy-efficient buildings, energy-saving enterprises. There is enough funding in the field of energy efficiency. Thanks to the consolidated work of state and international institutions, a lot of energy efficiency projects are planned for next year, and it is extremely important that Ukraine has skilled workers who are able to implement these projects.
Iryna Shumik, Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Education, also congratulated all participants of the Conference. She shared the experience of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in the development of vocational education, the extreme importance of introducing updated and truly modern educational programs. She noted that establishing partnerships between business companies and educational institutions is the only effective way to guarantee the quality and relevance of the educational process. She stressed the prospects of working professions, both for school graduates and for adults who want to retrain and get a modern and well-paid profession in the field of energy efficiency.
Lev Partskhaladze, President of the Confederation of Builders in Ukraine, stressed that given the rise in the price of gas and electricity, energy efficiency is more important than ever. And the shortage of qualified personnel in the construction industry opens up great prospects for professionals who will choose this professional path.
Lyudmyla Vasyleha, Director of the Department of Strategic Development and Labor Market Analysis of the State Employment Center of Ukraine, presented the organization’s plans to modernize and digitalize curricula in order to make curricula modern, interesting for young people and effective even in a pandemic. Lyudmyla Vasyleha shared the results of participation in the GIZ GmbH project in the field of implementation of training programs on the basis of 4 training centres, such as installer, insulator and specialist in thermal modernization of buildings and structures, and noted that their experience shows that these qualifications in energy-efficient construction are extremely in demand.
The achievements and plans for the future of the components of the project GIZ GmbH “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the European Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine” were described by:
- Victoria Shkolna, Project Advisor, Energy Efficiency Reforms Component
- Natalia Klymenko, Junior specialist of the project “Municipal component. Introduction of municipal energy management. Development of municipal energy planning”
- Vasylyna Horban, Coordinator, “Municipal component. Implementation of demonstration projects”
- Iryna Yuryeva, Coordinator of the Professional Qualifications Component
- Natalia Usenko, Advisor of the project “Consulting companies on energy efficiency”
Training programs and courses for the formation of competencies in energy efficiency were presented by partners of the above components of the GIZ GmbH project:
Svitlana Berzina, President of NGO “Living Planet”, spoke about Energy Efficient Procurement
- Kateryna Ilikchieva, National Adviser on Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination, Adviser on Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, addressed the issues of an integrated gender approach in the field of energy efficiency.
- Volodymyr Kolyadenko, Vice President of the Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, presented the EUREM European Energy Manager Training Program for energy managers of enterprises.
In the second part of the event more attention was focused on the presentation of the achievements of the project “Promotion of professions and education in the field of energy efficiency” which has been implemented by the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency” with the support of GIZ GmbH:
The results of the first year of the project were presented by the expert of the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency”, Tetiana Ziatikova. She told about all the main activities of the project, which were carried out by the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency” to solve two main tasks of the project: the promotion of professional qualifications in the field of energy efficiency and promoting the implementation of innovative training programs. The project developed an effective communication strategy for the implementation of the tasks in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the year of the project, a number of large-scale online events were held, aimed at students and teachers of higher and vocational education institutions: Energy Days, Vacancy Fair, Project Competition.
Olena Shevchenko, an expert of the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency”, spoke in more detail about the Project Competition “My Vocational Education Institution Building an Energy-Efficient Ukraine”. Representatives of the winning teams of the Project Competition also made their videos for the conference: the Regional Center for Vocational Education in Construction and Industry, the Odessa Vocational Lyceum of Construction and Architecture, and the Higher Vocational School in Kremenchuk.
In addition, within the first year of the project, the experts of the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency” developed the Concept of the National Campaign for the Promotion of Professional Qualifications in the Field of Energy Efficiency. Important stages of work on the Concept were the study of international experience and the meeting of the Steering Group of the experts who worked together to create the document. Experts of the NGO “School of Energy Efficiency”, Serhii Garashchuk and Evgenij Inshekov, made a presentation of their work at the Conference on October 28, 2021.
The conference was held under the slogan “Energy Efficiency Education: the strength is in synergy”. Because only in the synergy of efforts of education, business and government significant and sustainable changes in the training of modern specialists in the field of energy efficiency can be achieved. Over the last year, Energy Innovation Hubs in Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kharkiv have already demonstrated their potential to become effective platforms for such cooperation. To build the capacity of Energy Innovation Hubs an online training “Strategic and Operational Planning” was developed and conducted in cooperation with a business coach and consultant Vitalii Chuba. The leaders of Energy Innovation Hubs presented their Development Strategies at the Conference:
- Yevhen Yurchenko, Head of the Energy Innovation Hub in Dnipro,
- Victoria Grankina, Head of the Energy Innovation Hub in Kharkiv,
- Ihor Fodchuk, Head of the Energy Innovation Hub in Chernivtsi.
The event brought together many stakeholders: representatives of central and local authorities, international organizations, business companies, Energy Innovation Hubs, higher and vocational education institutions, NGOs, which indicates the high interest of all participants in further cooperation in promoting professional qualifications and energy efficiency in general.
The conference ended with informal communication and discussion of further plans on the building of an energy-efficient Ukraine.
