Skill Partnerships for Productivity

The idea

Ukraine’s economy is under enormous pressure as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Businesses are adapting by introducing new technologies, automating production and making their processes more resilient. At the same time, the vocational education and training (VET) system is struggling to keep pace: qualifications and curricula often do not yet reflect the technologies and working methods that companies actually need. The severe labour shortage is aggravating the situation.  

The Call for Skill Partnerships for Productivity is an initiative of the Skills Alliance for Ukraine. It creates a structured way for companies to work directly with training providers to set up or scale up business-relevant training programmes. By modernising qualifications and curricula, they help the whole sector, not just the individual company. 

The key idea is simple: companies are in dire need of well-trained workers who bring the necessary skills to adapt to the transforming economy. At the same time, companies have knowledge of new technologies, production processes and managerial approaches that is not yet reflected in the VET system. Training providers bring the educational expertise and the institutional capacity to turn this knowledge into recognised qualifications. Together, and with the support of the Skills Alliance, they develop training projects that produce lasting change in the qualification landscape: new curricula, trained teachers, modern learning formats and certified workers in the end. 

How does it work

Three partners, three separate contributions. A skill partnership involves three parties, the company, the training provider and the Skills Alliance. Each making their own independent contribution. There is no financial flow between the partners: each party finances its own contribution separately. This is a fundamental principle of the programme. 

The company contributes its technological know-how, its staff, its equipment and its financial resources. The training provider contributes its teaching capacity, its facilities and its institutional authority to certify qualifications. The Skills Alliance contributes facilitation, technical expertise and financially supports certain measures. Each partner accounts for its own expenditure independently. 

The total company contribution must be at least 50% of the total project budget. The Skills Alliance contribution can range from EUR 50,000 to EUR 200,000 and will be set in proportion to the company’s investment. 

Is my company / my project eligible?

• You are a private company operating in Ukraine.
• Your company has been active in Ukraine for at least 3 years and has a minimum of 8 employees.
• Your products and services are outside sensitive business areas (e.g. armaments, alcohol).
• Your cooperating training provider is certified and authorised at the proposed NQF level.
• Your company covers at least 50% of total project costs.
• Your project starts latest on 1 January 2027 and the duration does not exceed 12 months.
• All outputs of the project will be openly accessible, no exclusivity will be claimed.
• Trainees of the project include participants from outside the applying company.
• Your project includes active inclusion measures for vulnerable groups.
• Your project would not come about without Skills Alliance support.

How to apply

To submit a proposal, please fill in the “Proposal Form”. You can find more information on the content and format of the proposal in the “Guidance Notes for Applicants”.

Companies are invited to submit their proposal until 31 August 2026 to skills-alliance@giz.de.

The selected projects will be announced in September 2026.

If you have any questions regarding the Call, please reach out to skills-alliance@giz.de.

Join our information session

We offer an information session about the Call for Skill Partnerships on Thursday, 16 July 2026 at 11:00 CET / 12:00 EEST: