On 23 January, Obukhiv Lyceum No. 5 (Kyiv oblast) hosted the conference “Career Guidance – an Effective Tool for Student Self-Realisation”, organised within the framework of the Polaris Programme. The event became a key milestone in the implementation of a systemic approach to career guidance for students in grades 8–9 and brought together more than 70 educators from the Obukhiv (Kyiv oblast) and Lubny (Poltava oblast) hromadas.
The conference focused not only on presenting the results of piloting the educational and practical guide “Towards Success from the School Desk”, but also on shaping a shared vision of career guidance as a long-term educational policy that should become an integral part of governance and pedagogical strategies at the hromada level.
At the centre of the discussion was the understanding of career guidance not as a set of isolated, episodic activities, but as a holistic process aimed at supporting students in identifying their professional pathway and adapting to the contemporary labour market.
Key objectives of the conference included:
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fostering a culture of “hearing every voice” – taking into account the experience, needs and perspectives of educators and students;
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exchanging practices in piloting career guidance tools;
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strengthening inter-institutional cooperation between educational institutions and hromadas;
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generating ideas for building an integrated career guidance system;
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improving career guidance instruments within educational institutions.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Olena Paienko, Deputy Mayor of Obukhiv; Alina Dubrovskа, Head of the Education Department of the Obukhiv City Council; and Larysa Kravchenko, Deputy Head of the Education Department of the Lubny City Council.
Olena Paienko emphasised the strategic importance of career guidance for hromada development:
“Career guidance is not only about choosing a profession. It is about shaping a responsible citizen who understands their strengths, sees opportunities for development within the hromada, and can plan their own future. These approaches are what build human capital and long-term resilience of the hromada.”
A Methodology That Delivers Results
The first conference block featured the presentation of the guide “Towards Success from the School Desk” – a practical educational toolkit of career guidance activities for students in grades 8–9, developed by Polaris Programme education experts Oleh Fasolia, Artem Horobets and Wojtek Marchlewski.
Artem Horobets, Polaris education expert and moderator of the event, presented the Programme’s methodological approach to embedding career guidance in schools as a systemic educational policy:
“Career guidance should not be a one-off event, but a structured developmental trajectory for the child – from self-discovery to a conscious choice of an educational pathway after grade 9 and a future profession. The guide ‘Towards Success from the School Desk’ is a tool that helps schools move from formal activities to a functioning system of student self-knowledge and self-determination.”
He stressed that Polaris methodologies are based on the integration of psychological approaches, educational technologies and practical orientation towards real labour market needs.
Hromada Experience: From Piloting to System Building
Throughout the day, 12 educational institutions from the Obukhiv hromada and 12 from the Lubny hromada presented the results of piloting the guide in their schools.
Educators shared:
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practical cases of methodology implementation;
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adaptation of tools to the specific context of their institutions;
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results of work with students – their reflections and feedback after professional immersion activities;
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challenges and management decisions arising during implementation.
The presentations demonstrated that career guidance is no longer perceived as an “additional activity”, but is gradually becoming integrated into the educational process as part of a child’s personal development.
A key highlight of the conference was the contribution from the real sector of the economy – Tetiana Ishchenko, HR Manager at the Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill, who spoke about cooperation between the enterprise and local educational institutions and outlined business expectations towards future professionals:
“I am convinced that career guidance must be extremely practical. When children come to an enterprise, they do not simply ‘observe production’ – they begin to understand the logic of processes, the roles of different professions, and the real content of work. We go beyond excursions by building mentoring support, live interaction with professionals, opportunities to ask questions and to see a profession from the inside. This approach helps students make conscious choices about their educational pathways. And a conscious choice by young people is the foundation of a competitive future for the hromada.”
The final stage of the conference was group work in the World Café format, where participants in five groups worked on:
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career guidance tools;
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models of cooperation between educational institutions and between hromadas;
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action planning for the upcoming semester;
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building career guidance systems in schools.
This stage enabled a transition from experience analysis to strategic planning and concrete governance decisions.
As noted by Nataliia Brekalo, Director of the Brothers Shemet Academic Lyceum of the Lubny City Council: “The event left a very positive impression due to its clear focus on practical knowledge and skills that will help students confidently transform their dreams into future professions.”
After the main conference programme, the delegation of educators from the Lubny hromada continued professional exchange through an educational visit to the A. Malyshko Academic Lyceum No. 1 in Obukhiv. Participants explored the organisation of the educational process, learning equipment, governance models and the institution’s transformation into an academic lyceum within the framework of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform. Particular attention was given to approaches to specialised education, student educational trajectories, and management solutions supporting the transition to the new upper secondary school model. This “learning through practice” format became an important element of inter-hromada cooperation and strengthening the managerial capacity of educational teams.
Educational networking, site visits to Obukhiv hromada schools and the exchange of place-based practices laid the foundation for future joint projects between the hromadas.
The Obukhiv conference demonstrated that career guidance is moving beyond pedagogical practice and becoming part of multilevel governance – through the synergy of local authorities, education management bodies, educational institutions, business and the expert community. It is precisely such formats – practice-oriented, cross-sectoral and inter-hromada – that shape a new model of education, where the school becomes not only a space for learning, but also a space for conscious life-path choice.
