52 vocational school teachers completed practical training as part of initiative «Culinary Hubs. Training of Master Trainers»

More than 50 vocational school teachers completed practical training as part of initiative «Culinary Hubs. Training of Master Trainers», which is implemented with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian Project DECIDE.

Practical training is the final stage of the course for vocational school masters who train school chefs. Earlier, team of the Initiative conducted online training courses for 286 vocational school masters. The best 52 were selected from among them and trained to develop their practical skills in late August. The culinary hub at Boryspil Vocational Lyceum became the platform for the training.

«DECIDE project supports many reforms in education. We have seen that it is possible to upgrade equipment and develop the best recipes in the world, but no reform can be implemented without a team of motivated people who truly believe in changes. More than 50 vocational masters from all regions of Ukraine will become those “agents of change” who will not only train future chefs and retrain those who are currently working in the kitchens in Ukrainian schools, but also train their colleagues. After all, our common goal is for children in Ukraine to be healthy and happy!», — said Valentyna Poltorak, manager of the Swiss-Ukrainian Project DECIDE, at the event marking the start of practical training.

The initiative is implemented using the cascade method. The participants of the training will soon receive certificates of culinary master trainers and will be able to teach in culinary hubs. In addition, they will teach vocational masters at other culinary vocational schools. And they, in turn, will teach school chefs.

As a result, more than 200 vocational master trainers will teach in 20 culinary hubs for future chefs and school kitchen staff. This will not only promote the profession of a chef, but will also significantly improve the quality of school meals on the ground. As a result, schoolchildren will receive delicious and, most importantly, healthy food.

«School nutrition reform is a process that involves a lot of nuances and a lot of people who cannot always be controlled. That is why creation of such special training for master trainers will speed up implementation of changes on the ground. Soon, master trainers will start changing Ukraine here and now. This is one of the most important missions of our team. The process is difficult and time-consuming, but it is so enjoyable and cool that we are ready to continue. We want there to be more and more professional changemakers», — adds Yevhen Klopotenko.

Initiative «Culinary Hubs. Training of Master Trainers» is implemented by NGO Cult Food with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian Project DECIDE, implemented in Ukraine by a consortium consisting of NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. The partners of the Initiative are the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Association of Public Catering.

The master trainer project has been developed and is being implemented as part of the School Nutrition Reform Strategy for the period up to 2027.