A modern career guidance culinary hub has been opened in Sokal, Lviv region, at the State Vocational and Technical Educational Institution ‘Sokal Professional Lyceum’. This is a fully-equipped presentation space where schoolchildren in Grades 7–9 can learn about the professions taught at the vocational school and try operating specialised equipment.

The 117-square-metre hub is equipped with all the necessary facilities for food preparation and storage, including a combi oven, multifunctional heating system, stove, mixers, dough mixer, meat grinder, vegetable cutter, and refrigeration equipment.

 

 

Students in the culinary hub

 

‘Together with representatives from the region and the Ministry of Education and Science, we shortlisted several vocational schools and communities. We selected the Sokal community because the community and the school team are highly motivated. Additionally, the region has already launched a project to establish a culinary hub here, to which DECIDE has contributed. In collaboration with the School Nutrition Office, we developed an engineering project, designed the equipment, considered all aspects of ergonomics and modern requirements, supplied the equipment and installed a substation to enable the equipment to function. In addition to schoolchildren, vocational school students can also use the hub. This is very promising, as the most modern equipment has been installed here. In the future, they will not need retraining,’ says Valentyna Poltorak, the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project Manager.

 

Students in the culinary hub

 

The culinary hub also has a professional washing area equipped with a dishwasher, a water softening system, and sterilisers. This inventory and additional equipment ensure the hub operates efficiently and safely in accordance with sanitary standards.

In addition, the heating system in the tasting room, which has a total area of 98 square metres, has been maintained and renovated.

Vocational school students teaching schoolchildren at the culinary hub

 

‘When I started working at this educational institution more than five years ago, there was already a training and practical centre here with cherry-coloured walls covered in mould. I thought it would be impossible to revive this space. But with desire and support, anything is possible. Thanks to our modern equipment, we can now prepare any culinary delight our customers desire in our hub, from sweet pastries to marzipan meat,’ comments Nataliia Yurchyshyn, Principal of the Sokal Professional Lyceum.

Tasting room

 

The space was co-financed by the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project (UAH 4,291,000), the Department of Education and Science of the Lviv Regional State Administration (UAH 9,900,000) and the Sokal community (UAH 300,000).

‘In the Lviv region, we are investing heavily in vocational education because it is important to us that young people stay in Ukraine. We want them to see a future for themselves here: a chance to gain a promising profession, find employment and earn a decent salary,’ says Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration.

 

 

Special funds of the lyceum in the amount of UAH 100,000 were also allocated to the hub, and items, materials, equipment and inventory worth UAH 1 million were purchased at the expense of the special fund of the vocational institution. The total budget is over UAH 15.5 million.

There are currently ten such locations in Ukraine, housed in vocational education institutions. These locations are based in six regions: Kyiv, Lviv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Odesa, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Following the piloting of the career guidance hubs, there will be even more.