The importance of training of young professionals of working specialties for the needs of modern agricultural enterprises is one of the major factors, hindering the development of agricultural production. This was stated by the Association "Ukrainian Agribusiness Club" (UCAB).

According to Eleanora Evchenko, the head of the «AgriJob» special project, among agricultural enjterprises the greatest demand is for working specialties: agronomist, veterinarian, livestock specialist, mechanizer. Only 6% of agricultural companies need accountants, economists and analysts. Moreover, agricultural enterprises prefer to hire young professionals with excellent theoretical knowledge and considerable working experience in Ukraine or abroad.

According to «AgriJob» agency, 51% of companies are ready to hire graduates without experience and to train them at their own expenses (7% have already started doing so). For the companies, this strategy is acceptable, because young professionals agree to work for modest salaries, strive for getting new knowledge and are motivated to work in order to achieve high results In addition, companies, using the resources to train youth, bring up specialists according to their own vision and needs. However, the main limiting factor is the insufficient development of rural infrastructure and unavailability of many graduates return (move) to the village for work.

The Vice-President of UCAB Volodymyr Makar emphasizes on the fact that for agricultural companies the early years of work of young professionals is a kind of an investment in human resources. "In the world the drivers of modern technologies are the resource companies, but in Ukraine there is also a large number of agricultural companies that implement innovative technologies that require specially qualified personnel," - the expert said.

Volodymyr Makar also said that the reformation of the system of agricultural education will provide adequate results only in case of strengthening interrelations between education and production. "We can have a long discussion on the formalities of this issue but simple and effective practical solutions are of the immense importance and have to be made immediately," - V.Makar said. 

Obviously, teachers should pay maximum attention to attendance of practical workshops, such as field days, and try to involve in the process of studying qualified professionals in the field of agribusiness, even after their retirement. "Production elite of Ukraine is comprised of professionals with the proper basic education, received in the times of the Soviet Union, and 20-30 years of working experience. Not all of them can get through the workload of real business now, but we have no right to waste their experience, not sharing it with the younger generation ", - said the expert.

Association "Ukrainian Agribusiness Club"
Velyka Zhytomyrska str., 20 А, office 53, Kyiv, 01001
Phone: +380 44 201-4950
Fax: +380 44 201-4951
099 272 59 30
[email protected]
Tetiana Kotyk
www.agribusiness.kiev.ua

The Association "Ukrainian Agribusiness Club" (UCAB) http://agribusiness.kiev.ua was founded in 2007 to protect the economic and professional interests of players of agribusiness in Ukraine. UCAB is a unique platform in Ukraine for establishing business contacts between the leaders of agribusiness, improvement their work and dialogue with the government. UCAB actively supports Ukrainian producers in establishing and maintaining international business relations. The Association consists of the largest producers and processors of agricultural products in Ukraine.