The owner of the Kyivsky Standart furniture factory, Anatolii Manakonov, knows well what a shortage of qualified workers in manufacturing means. To ensure his enterprise is staffed, he initiated active cooperation with the local vocational school in Bila Tserkva. He supported an advertising campaign to encourage prospective students to choose this institution.

However, while working with applicants and their parents, it became clear that the current specialty at the school — “Construction Carpenter” — does not attract young people.

“One of our factory employees said he didn’t want his son to end up without fingers if he went to study carpentry,” says Anatolii, commenting on one of the reasons for the low popularity of the only relevant specialty for furniture manufacturing at the Bila Tserkva Higher Vocational School of Construction and Service.

For many, this title is associated with hard physical labor and even danger in the workplace, which deters potential students.

Anatolii Manakonov concluded that a modern, clear, and appealing job title is needed — one that reflects the essence of work in today’s automated furniture manufacturing. This became the impetus for a broader discussion — should the current qualification characteristics be replaced with a new professional standard?

To initiate the discussion, an online meeting was held with the participation of:

• Oleksandr Slobodyanyk — Acting Director of the Bila Tserkva Higher Vocational School of Construction and Service.

• Anatolii Manakonov and Olha Serbin — owners of the Kyivsky Standart factory.

• Svitlana Kravets — Head of the Department of Foreign Systems of Vocational Education, Head of the Center for Modern Professions and Training Technologies at the Institute of Vocational Education of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, Ph.D. in Pedagogical Sciences, Senior Researcher.

• Olena Kolesnikova — Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine.

• Oksana Donska — Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers, owner of Oakhunt.

During the conversation, participants noted that state standards for training personnel in the furniture industry significantly lag behind the needs of modern manufacturing, and the content of educational programs does not always reflect real working conditions. The idea of creating a new profession adapted to the specifics of the furniture industry, with updated qualification requirements and a modern title, was discussed.

Svitlana Kravets and Olena Kolesnikova explained the procedure for developing a professional standard, emphasizing the need to create a working group involving entrepreneurs, associations, and experts from each production stage. The possibility of adapting the standard to European classifications was also discussed.

📅 Next step — a strategic working session to develop a qualification description for working professions in the furniture industry.
📍 Date and location: August 26, 2025, Bila Tserkva, Vocational School No. 13
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

We invite furniture company owners and executives, technologists, HR professionals, and production foremen to take part.

Register