Another step of the Ukraine Plan for the Ukraine Facility completed: law on vocational education adopted

On 21 August, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the draft Law “On Vocational Education” No. 13107-d in its second reading and in full. Another step of the Ukraine Plan under the Ukraine Facility for the previous period – the reform of ARMA’s institutional capacity – was also completed during the European Commission’s review of the report.

The aim of the vocational education reform is to promote the development of educational institutions, grant them autonomy, and ensure graduates are competitive in the labour market through collaboration with businesses.

The adopted Law:

• Establishes fair rules for the operation of vocational education institutions;
• Enhances the institutional capacity of these institutions to provide formal and non-formal vocational education;
• Regulates the relationships between vocational education institutions, businesses, and the state to foster the development of qualified specialists.

“Today, we have completed another important step of the Ukraine Plan, backed by the extensive efforts of many teams. The adoption of the law on vocational education will help us secure approximately EUR 390 million in support from the EU and fundamentally transform Ukraine’s vocational education system. Together with the Verkhovna Rada and all involved stakeholders, we are working to meet the other indicators outlined in the Plan. Fulfilling our commitments to European partners remains our key priority,” said Oleksii Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.

Additionally, in July, another step of the Ukraine Plan for the previous reporting period was completed – the reform of ARMA’s institutional capacity. On 27 July 2025, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Strengthen the Institutional Capacity of the National Agency of Ukraine for the Identification, Tracing, and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes, and to Improve Asset Management Mechanisms” (No. 4503-IX, dated 18 June 2025). This law revises the procedures for the competitive selection of the Agency’s head, the process for independent external audits of ARMA, and introduces transparent procedures for selecting managers of seized assets.

To date, 9 out of 11 steps for the second quarter of the Ukraine Plan have been completed. If assessed positively, approximately EUR 1.2 billion – the third tranche of 2025 – will be allocated to the Ukrainian budget.

Background

The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture designated as the sole national coordinator of the Ukraine Facility programme under the Ukraine Plan, continues to monitor the Plan’s implementation and prepares quarterly reports for the European Commission.