Ukraine: A second chance behind the wheel – vocational training helps address labour shortages in Mykolaiv

To help fill this gap, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) launched a vocational training programme in 2025, made possible with funding from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The initiative offers local residents a chance to train or retrain as tractor operators—reviving skills, expanding employment opportunities, and supporting the region’s recovery.

Back to the land

On a hot summer day in Marynivka, students gather in a dusty field beside a row of tractors. The machines hum as the trainees take turns driving, adjusting controls, and learning to manage basic repairs. One of them is Vasyl, who had first dreamed of becoming a tractor driver back in 2007.

That path was interrupted by military service. But nearly two decades later, with the help of a DRC grant, Vasyl was able to return to the local agricultural lyceum and enrol in a training course.

“Getting back into the seat after all this time felt right,” he says. “It’s hard work, but this is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Vasyl is not alone in seeing this training as a way to reclaim a long-held ambition. Nearby, Eugeniy leans casually against the tractor’s bonnet, wiping the sweat from his brow with a smile.

“For me, this machine is more than just metal and gears,” he says. “Here, I’m not only learning to drive — I’m learning how the tractor works, how to keep it running, and how to fix it when something goes wrong. Out in the field, that knowledge can make all the difference. This work is badly needed now, and I’m not planning to stop anytime soon.”

The lyceum combines classroom sessions with hands-on practice. Students work with real equipment and under real conditions, preparing them for employment in a sector where practical experience matters as much as theory. In 2025 alone, 60 people in Mykolaiv Oblast completed the training.

Making training accessible

Each grant, valued at approximately $1,500 per participant, helps cover tuition, fuel, protective equipment, and machinery upkeep, with part of the funds going toward travel costs for those commuting from neighbouring villages. The support enables the lyceum to maintain its equipment and pay instructors—a critical factor in keeping training available and relevant.

Olena, a DRC Urban and Rural Livelihoods Officer, notes that the programme also helps reinforce local institutions.

“This support goes beyond individual skills,” she says. “It strengthens the lyceum and gives people a real opportunity to re-enter the labour market.”

Meeting a broader need

In last couple of years over half of the region’s working-age men have been mobilised or displaced since the start of the full-scale invasion. At the same time, significant areas of agricultural land in southern Ukraine remain unsafe because of mine contamination, further limiting opportunities for cultivation. This combination of reduced workforce and restricted access to land has placed considerable strain on the sector.

Programmes like this are one part of the solution. They help ensure that Mykolaiv’s agricultural base can continue functioning, even in difficult conditions. And for people like Vasyl, they offer a return to a profession that once seemed out of reach.