This chapter focuses on the future of the public service in Ukraine, through three elements: strengthening the learning and development system, identifying and prioritising the most-needed skills, and aligning HR practices with workforce development goals. The chapter analyses the current state of these in Ukraine and provides examples of international comparative good practices as well as successes happening within Ukraine. It concludes with a series of recommendations to help guide the Ukrainian administration in building and maintaining a public service that is ready to meet Ukraine’s challenges and needs in the coming future.
Public Governance Review of Ukraine
Abstract
Focusing and understanding this chapter in an overall context
Ukraine’s public service – the workforce of the government – is, like the country as whole, facing untold challenges. These challenges exist in day-to-day work, in maintaining resiliency and in implementing strategies to ensure preparedness for a safe and successful future. This has hindered ongoing pre-war efforts to source and develop the skills and capacities needed among public servants, both by leaving some jobs unfilled and through an overall drain on the workforce talent pool in the country and within the administration. Some progress towards reforms has still been made, however other areas have seen setbacks (for example, shifts towards a merit-based and transparent recruitment process have paused). The war has meant that many initiatives have faced some degree of delay or constraint due to more limited resources (human, financial and time), and – quite necessarily – shifting efforts towards the new defence, infrastructure and energy maintenance, and diplomacy priorities placed on the country as a result of the war.
That said, new insights into resiliency abound in Ukraine. Public servants, individually and as a whole, have continued working and driving progress even when that progress faces near-constant setbacks. New innovative ways of working have emerged, to tackle challenges despite uncertainty or lack of resources. In research interviews for this report, workers admitted they are of course fatigued, and that each day is difficult – both because of the types of challenges they face at work, but also the challenges facing them as citizens of a country under attack. However, despite the fatigue, the crises, and the constraints, public servants in Ukraine display an undeterred will to continue with their vital work that can provide an exemplary case study to other countries seeking to enhance their own public service resiliency. The collective cause in Ukraine today, has engrained itself into the values of Ukraine’s public service, leading to productivity and progress in circumstances that might otherwise work against such a level of resilience.
Given this, it is important to read this chapter with this in mind. This review was conducted during a time of war and aggression, when the normal functioning of government and the public service could not always be expected to continue without interruption or shortcoming. The recommendations this report makes are intended to address elements of Ukraine’s public service that require strengthening over the long term. While there is a strong collective resiliency to endure the present, this chapter aims to ensure a stable and successful future for Ukraine, through its public service.
This chapter places its focus on these foundational future elements; on building and maintaining the skills and capabilities required in Ukraine’s public service to face challenges in a recovery stage and beyond. These challenges include effective long-term leadership and strategy design, to policy and reform implementation, the effective management of innumerable projects related to the rebuild of areas of the country, service provision to citizens and businesses, and international diplomacy and co-operation going forward. This chapter seeks to review related elements of Ukraine’s public service and provide recommendations to support Ukraine in developing a future-ready public service that is aligned with OECD and international good practices to buttress the strength, preparedness and resiliency of the country in a post-war future.
The chapter is arranged in three parts. It first lays out some important context for the analysis that follows, discussing some of the foundational work on which this chapter is built (noting important OECD and SIGMA frameworks and assessments), as well as reforms – and ongoing efforts towards them – in Ukraine.
Second, the analytical section of the chapter combines information on the current state of play with analysis on how Ukraine could improve – alongside information on existing successes and good practices. It focuses on developing a strong, capable and resilient public service across three themes:
Strengthening learning and development systems
Identifying and focusing on the most-needed skills
Establishing and administering process and procedures that reinforce the above
Some examples of good practices or success stories that have emerged during the war-time period in Ukraine are found in boxes throughout this chapter. These demonstrate small elements of the whole picture of the continued resilience among the country’s public service.
The final section of this chapter provides key recommendations to consider addressing or implementing going forward. The recommendations this report makes are intended to address elements of Ukraine’s public service that require strengthening over the long term.
Ukraine’s public service today: background and recent reforms
Responsibility for the Ukrainian public service is held within a specialised agency
Oversight and responsibility for the public service in Ukraine falls mainly to the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS). The NAUCS is a central executive authority, whose activities are directed and coordinated by the Prime Minister of Ukraine.1 The NAUCS ensures the development and implementation of state policy in the field of civil service and exercises functional management of the civil service within government authorities, other state bodies, and their administrative offices (secretariats). Ukraine does not have a ministry or minister responsible for its public service overall. The NAUCS is responsible for HRM policy formulation and implementation, implementation of legislation related to the public service, functional management of the civil service (such as through recruitment guidelines and guidance to decentralised HRM units). In terms of day-to-day administrative HR, Human resource management services are further established within each specific government authority and report directly to the head of that authority, rather than to the Head of the NAUCS.
The NAUCS manages institutions under its mandate: the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union, the High School of Public Governance, and territorial bodies (Central, South-Eastern and Western Interregional Offices of the NAUCS).
Ukraine’s public service is facing shortages and a composition that reflects a workforce undergoing administrative reforms and facing the realities of war
Ukraine’s public service population was just over 156 000, in June of 2025. In the same period, nearly 10 000 public servants were mobilised to the military or were in areas seeing heavy actions of war. 2 Approximately 31 600 vacant public service jobs are unfilled in Ukraine as of June 2025. In 2024, around 35 000 employees were hired, and nearly 38 000 left. In the first half of 2025, around 19 000 people were hired, but roughly the same number were dismissed or resigned. However, these figures are complicated by additional factors and cannot themselves be used to estimate vacancies. First, vacancies had historically been used in certain cases – much prior to the salary reform – as a means to augment salaries or salary budgets. Second, current Martial Law stipulates that employees must be terminated from their posts and then re-hired in order to move them into different or higher positions. Therefore, this number of exits and entries also captures employees who have been promoted or exercised any degree of mobility, making analysis difficult. It should be noted that vacancy numbers cannot reliably be used as a proxy for staff shortages in this case.
Managers across ministries, along with official data from the National Agency of Ukraine on the Civil Service, report widespread difficulty in hiring and retaining skilled workers and in filling all available roles. This is paired with heavy workload on existing staff, due to staff shortages but also due to the extraordinary demands on the country’s government workers during the war.
The public service in Ukraine is classified into three staffing levels: A, B and C. Those in the A category – numbering only 227 in 2025 – are the executive leadership level. Level B represents other management levels and many workers in ministries, with just over 38 000 staff. Level C workers make up the remainder and majority of the public service workforce, representing most administrative and operational staff. In June 2025, there are just under 118 000 of these workers. These levels of workers are referred to in this way in this chapter going forward.
The structure of Ukraine’s central administration is currently organised across nearly 80 ministries, agencies, services, inspectorates/oversight bodies and other organisms. This is currently somewhat in flux, as administrative reforms are implemented, and the machinery of government undergoes changes. It is also notable that very large percentages of central government workers actually work in territorial bodies, which are still affiliated with the central level. In oblasts, there is sometimes overlapping or somewhat unclear responsibility with levels of government for certain areas. The number of workers in ministries is in fact quite a low share overall in the central administration.
Ukraine has an overall very high representation of female workers in the public service, making up nearly 76% of the total workforce. While strong female representation in a public service is not unusual in OECD countries, the balance between women and men is often most apparent at senior levels. At higher levels of seniority, across the OECD, it is common to see the disparity invert, wherein more males occupy senior and decision-making posts. This can point to issues with having – or not having – the best and most-capable leaders in the most decisive posts, if women are missing out on promotions, appointments or leadership development opportunities in a systematic way (OECD, 2023[1]). The figure below demonstrates this phenomenon across the OECD. In most countries, progress is being made towards balance between men and women at top levels, with more women in senior posts in 2021 than ten years prior – however, only six OECD countries have 50% women in these roles (or more).
Source: (OECD, 2023[1])
Ukraine is no exception in this regard: by category A, only 27% of percent of officials are female (60 out of a total of 220), ranking below the OECD average. The strong representation of women overall in OECD countries can be explained by the large number of workers in the most junior, and lowest-paid, posts. While public services often have a high number of female employees, they work more often than men in lower-paid or less-skilled positions. These findings generally indicate a barrier in the development and promotion of women to leadership and decision-making positions, which would need to be addressed to create balance in senior posts, and importantly to ensure that the most capable workers are filling important posts, regardless of whether they are men or women.
Source: Government of Ukraine data
In Ukraine, there is an urgent need to source and train capable managers and leadership (as discussed more later in this chapter). If there are barriers to these posts for the most skilled and qualified candidates, who may be women, this amplifies the problem that Ukraine is facing when it comes to capable leadership. Creating an environment in which women and men are equally represented at senior levels is a priority of NAUCS. The Agency has set a goal to increase the percentage of women in senior posts to 40% by 2030. This goal is also actioned through ensuring that more spaces in leadership development programmes are filled by women, to resolve barriers in the development pipeline.
Toward adherence with the OECD Recommendation on Public Service Leadership and Capability (PSLC)
This work uses the principles of the OECD Recommendation on Public Service Leadership and Capability (PSLC Recommendation)3, shown in brief below Figure 5.3), as an analytical framework to identify key areas of Ukraine’s public administration on which to focus more deeply. The 14 principles that make up the Recommendation outline elements of an ideal and high-functioning public service. The PSLC recommendation is a legal document, integrated into OECD standards for the public service. The Recommendation was developed in consultation with OECD countries as well as other actors. OECD member countries agree these standards and commit to implementing policies and reforms to form a public service that abides by the principles.
The chapter’s analysis specifically highlights the most relevant Principles of the PSLC Recommendation that can be targeted to strengthen Ukraine’s public service and support its readiness for the future. These include Principles 2, 5, 8 and 11, which focus on skills and competencies, leadership, learning and development, and workforce strategy. However, it is vitally important to note that the Principles are mutually reinforcing, and the PSLC Recommendation should be considered as a reference source throughout this chapter, and also for alignment with OECD standards.
14 Principles that define a high-functioning and future-ready public service
Source: OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Public Service Leadership and Capability, OECD/LEGAL/0445
Building on the SIGMA Monitoring Report: “Public administration in Ukraine: Assessment against the Principles of Public Administration”
The work in this chapter of the OECD Public Governance Review of Ukraine builds on extensive country-specific work undertaken through the joint EU-OECD initiative Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA). Housed within the OECD structure, SIGMA has been working with specific partner countries, including Ukraine, since 1992. In 2023, SIGMA assessed Ukraine’s administration against the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration (OECD/SIGMA, 2023[2]),4 and published a subsequent Monitoring Report (OECD, 2024[3]).5 6
The Monitoring Report found (focusing on the duration between 2020 and 2023) that Ukraine’s civil service had experienced significant disruption due to Russia’s war of aggression and the imposition of martial law. Core administrative processes, including recruitment, promotions, transfers, and dismissals, were altered, reducing adherence to merit-based practices. Financial constraints led to a decline in funding for salaries and training, weakening both workforce performance and institutional resilience. The NAUCS took steps to improve human resource management, but uptake of key tools, such as the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS; discussed more in this chapter) was limited. Further findings from the Monitoring Report include the implementation of competitive, merit-based recruitment, required under the Civil Service Law, was largely suspended, initially due to COVID-19 and later martial law. While certain institutional improvements were made, such as the establishment of the Center for Evaluating Applicants for Public Service Positions, recruitment standards deteriorated, and civil service turnover remained high. The management of the senior civil service was weakened by political interference and the erosion of competitive appointment procedures. The salary structure continued to lack transparency and fairness, and reform allowances proved fiscally unsustainable. Though progress had been made in professional development since 2018, promotion processes during martial law discouraged advancement. The disciplinary system remained mostly unchanged, though new procedures were introduced under martial law. Notably, experiences and perceptions of corruption had improved, but the suspension of asset declarations and delays in adopting the Anti-Corruption Strategy marked setbacks in maintaining integrity and oversight.
Where the scope of this chapter in the Public Governance Review aligns with elements of the SIGMA assessment, this work seeks to build on the work conducted while citing relevant findings, without duplicating analyses or limiting the conciseness of this work. Therefore, throughout this document, reference is made to SIGMA’s conclusions and recommendations, which can be referred to for more detail and to understand the indicators and depth of analysis that supports and comprises them. This chapter particularly builds on the SIGMA Monitoring Report under the scope of Principle 6,7 which states that the professional development of public servants is ensured through elements such as training, growth opportunities and performance management.
The urgent importance of performance- and merit-based selection through a transparent process
SIGMA’s work (discussed above), and the Principles of the PSLC Recommendation, pertain to using merit-based and transparent selection and promotion methods. These principles are of utmost importance to the scope of the work in the chapter and for the alignment of Ukraine’s public service with international standards and good practices. The recruitment and promotion of civil servants based on performance and merit is an integral element of a properly functioning and future-ready public service. These practices help ensure that the best employees are selected, retained and developed to work in the difference-making roles inside administrations. This chapter discusses the issue, and its importance should not be understated. However, the subject is not developed as extensively as it would otherwise be in the absence of the work by SIGMA, which has thoroughly analysed and provided recommendations on the matter.
Ukraine’s public service had not traditionally had a system of full merit-based or transparent competition for roles. However, many improvements to establish such a system were introduced by the Law on the Civil Service (LCS) in 2016 and were being implemented up until the COVID-19 pandemic, when open competitions were suspended through a special amendment to the LCS.8 The process was reinstated after the pandemic, however soon after the end of the COVID crisis, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, and Martial Law was implemented. This again halted progress towards merit-based recruitment, given that Ukraine’s Law on the legal regime of Martial Law stipulates that in times of Martial Law, civil service positions can be filled without any competitive process.9
A resumption of competitions, starting in summer 2026, has been proposed by NAUCs. It provides a yearlong period for launching competitions for posts filled during the Martial Law, but also allows such civil servants to see their status converted into open-ended under certain conditions, without undergoing open competitive processes. This reform also slightly improves the procedure by removing political appointees from the Commission for Senior Civil Service, adding field experts to its composition, and extending deadlines for application. It is a positive step towards merit-based and transparent entry into the civil service and is better aligned with the SIGMA Principles of Public Administration. However, there are also limitations, including the extension of shortlisting of candidates to categories B and C (classifications below executive level), giving unnecessary discretion to appointing authorities, or introducing personnel reserve (allowing candidates who are not selected to be appointed to other positions without a competition). Furthermore, there are challenges to the reform’s passing and implementation, such as lack of comprehensive data – which itself is an issue resulting from the HRMIS system not yet being a mandatory system for all public administration institutions (although a schedule is in place to achieve this in the medium term). In addition, amending primary legislation is only the first step to an improved model of merit-based recruitment, as many important details are to follow in secondary legislation and guidelines, and of course in the practical implementation.
Given the Principles regarding merit-based selection contained in the PSLC recommendation, and those in SIGMA’s Principles of Public Administration, a continued recommendation of the OECD to Ukraine is to fully resume merit-based recruitment and open competitions as soon as security conditions permit. This strong recommendation stands and should be emphasised even in the absence of extended analysis on the topic in this specific report.
Recent reforms to public servant salaries are intended to reduce turnover and address attractiveness
Salaries in Ukraine’s public service have been uncompetitive against the private sector. Partly as a result, turnover rates in Ukraine’s public service are increasingly high, and tens of thousands of positions go unfilled. While these issues are linked not only to salaries but also to other factors related to the overall attractiveness of the public service in Ukraine, the current administration has started a major reform targeting salaries and job classifications (Governement of Ukraine, 2022[4]). It aims to further classify positions within the civil service and in turn reform salaries based on these classifications. The law was signed by President Zelensky in June 2025, following the implementation of a transitional pilot period in 2024 and a second reading in March 2025.
For some classifications, the reform brings salaries in line with certain private sector positions, though in other cases, particularly outside of central government, staff may actually see a decrease in wages. 50% of civil servants reported a salary increase due to the reform, while 28% noted a decrease, and 22% experienced no significant changes (The Agency for Legislative Initiatives, 2024[5]; NAUCS, 2024[6]). The reform changes the structure of pay to increase many base salaries and to stop allowing for non-transparent bonuses awarded at managers discretion.
OECD/SIGMA has provided an opinion on this reform, pointing to some positive steps but other significant shortcomings. The reform was long-discussed and saw around 125 amendments and proposals in the years it spent passing through the legislative system. It remains to be seen whether the salary adjustment functions as intended and can stem the high turnover rates within Ukraine’s public service.
Priorities moving forward for the future of Ukraine
Given the context and discussion presented above, it is evident that Ukraine’s public service stands at a pivotal moment. While it has shown remarkable resilience and commitment under the pressures of war, underlying structural and skill issues remain that must be addressed to ensure long-term capability and effectiveness. As highlighted by the SIGMA Monitoring Report, disruption to recruitment, promotions and workforce management during the war has undermined institutional development. At the same time, the OECD’s Recommendation on Public Service Leadership and Capability stresses that a high-performing public administration relies on strong leadership, a skilled workforce and systems that foster continuous learning and strategic workforce management.
In this context, this chapter focuses on three future-oriented priorities that are essential for supporting Ukraine in building a capable, durable and resilient public service. These areas of focus align closely with the OECD Recommendation and respond directly to the challenges and gaps identified by SIGMA. Specifically, the chapter expands on strengthening learning and development systems, identifying and prioritising the most-needed skills, and establishing and embedding human resource processes and practices that reinforce and sustain the previous two elements. These priorities provide a practical and strategic foundation for shaping a public service through recovery and into the future.
Ukraine’s public service faces challenges in building its overall capacity and depth of skill across the workforce. Currently, the most capable staff can be over-extended, and the recruitment of new skilled staff is a major challenge. As a result, Ukraine relies on external assistance and technical support to bridge many of its current workforce gaps (OECD, 2024[3]). For the future of Ukraine and its long-term independence, and to align with international good-practice, it is vital that the capacity for a future-ready and high-performing public service is found internally with the country’s own workforce.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to actively and systematically upskill and develop the country’s public service workforce. Development opportunities and policies can create capacity among the existing workforce and make the public service more attractive to new recruits.
This section introduces three elements of workforce skill development that work together to build a future-ready and capable workforce: strong learning and development systems, strategic targeting of the right types of skills, and human resources practices that reinforce learning and performance by employees. The section reviews these elements in the context of the Ukrainian public service.
Strengthening learning and development systems across the Ukrainian public service
To create a resilient and future-ready public service, Ukraine must continue to institutionalise a sustainable learning and development framework that meets evolving needs, supports international and EU integration, and fosters continuous professional growth.
Sourcing needed skills at the hiring stage is a large challenge for the Ukrainian public service. The overall attractiveness of the public service (often when compared to salaries available in the private sector) can hinder the recruitment of the most skilled workers, though this is a problem faced by the many OECD countries and governments globally. The attractiveness of the civil service in Ukraine may be further hindered by a recruitment process that is currently not based on merit, is not transparent, and is not always perceived by the population to be fair. The absence of these systems does not aid in improving negative perceptions of corruption around the attainment of senior roles (more on this can be found in the OECD Integrity and Anti-Corruption Review of Ukraine (OECD, 2025[7]).
In Ukraine, additional problems are faced in sourcing skills due to several factors beyond attractiveness. These include a population decrease during the war and the relative abundance of complex problems that must be addressed through the public service, and an overall shortage of needed skills generally in the overall workforce (even outside of the public service). In the Ukrainian public service currently, many roles are left unfilled due to an inability to find qualified people for the roles.
This problem creates an urgent impetus to develop needed skills internally, through advanced and thorough learning and development (L&D) strategies, rather than to rely too heavily on sourcing skills at the recruitment stage, as outlined in this section of the chapter.
Thailand is an example of a country that is finding itself in a needed shift towards prioritising the development of its existing public service workforce, given challenges in attraction. In previous decades, the country’s Royal Thai Scholarship Programme functioned as a very attractive offer for the best talent in the country: candidates would have their education abroad paid for by the Thai government and then return to launch their careers inside the administration. However, with a rapidly advancing economy and attractive options in the private sector, this programme is no longer functioning in the same way and attractiveness of the public sector in Thailand is at much lower levels. Thailand is struggling, just like Ukraine, to fill roles, limit turnover, and find skilled workers.
In 2024, the OECD conducted a Public Service Leadership and Capability (PSLC) review of Thailand. This work analysed the entirety of the country’s public service against the principles of the recommendation. Among the top findings was a clear need for Thailand to shift its efforts and reliance away from being able to source the best in the country at the initial recruitment stage, and towards increased efforts to develop the skills and careers of existing staff. This can help the existing workforce gain more skills and become more capable, as well as provide growth and fulfilment to staff to reduce turnover and increase motivation.
Following the OECD’s review, Thailand has begun to implement recommendations related to this goal. They are increasing the resources going towards the Civil Service College, and other learning and development initiatives. They have also shifted staff resources to put highly skilled leaders in charge of the L&D portfolio. Further, they have developed several competency frameworks, and initiated more strategic analysis of skills needs. In turn, they have designed and expanded learning curriculum around these. Thailand has also increased its efforts on international collaboration and sharing on this front, for example by becoming involved members of the OECD Network of Schools of Government (NSG).
Source: OECD PSLC Review of Thailand, 2024 (forthcoming in publication)
Ukraine is developing a co-ordinated, well-aligned and long-term strategy for public sector learning and skill development
In recent years, Ukraine has recognised the need for a more substantive role for learning and development within its public service and has begun to make several advancements in this area. Chief among these is the revitalisation of its school of government, the High School of Public Governance (more on this in the box below), as well as the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union (Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union, n.d.[8]).
An institution under the umbrella of the NAUCS, the High School leads government learning efforts and is responsible for implementing much of the learning strategy and action plan for Ukraine’s public service, which were established in 2023 and cover until 2027.10 The High School implements professional development programmes and training for civil servants, and is currently frequently adding to its catalogue to try to ramp up the learning offerings available in Ukraine. Following the resumption of competitions for public service roles, the competition procedure is intended to be held partly at the Center for Evaluating Applicants for Public Service Positions of the High School of Public Governance.11
The Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union also provides some training as part of its role as a research hub and resource centre that collects and analyses data for the integration of Ukraine to the EU. It also partners with partner institutions, including OECD SIGMA, to expand its range of training and expertise (OECD/SIGMA, 2023[2]) ((JDS), n.d.[9]).
The National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS, discussed previously) sets training standards and mandates, and approves advanced training programmes.12 It also oversees competitive selection for any external training providers and is tasked with ensuring compliance and alignment with the strategy and action plan mentioned above. The NAUCS has also established a communication and information system to give information on training to public servants, called the Knowledge Management Portal. This system attempts to catalogue the learning offerings available, especially those provided online, of which there are around 1700 on offer – however it does not provide any online learning itself. The Knowledge Management Portal provides electronic interaction between the Portal's users (public servants, state and local self-government bodies, and educational service providers). More than 7 000 state and local self-government bodies representing human resources management services are registered on the platform, in addition to 168 providers of educational services (higher and postgraduate education institutions, international technical assistance projects/programmes) who can post professional development programmes that they offer.
For online learning, there are several resources. Studiya (or StudyiЯ) is a specialised educational platform for the training and development of public servants, created by the High School of Public Governance. Still growing, it was platform was launched in November 2024 and as of August 2025, 22 504 public servants have registered on the platform, which hosts 43 courses. Additionally, the Ministry of Digital Transformation has developed and runs Diia.Education, a state portal for digital education available to public servants and which offers and hosts several trainings (at time of publication, there are 24 educational series relevant to civil servants). Other online resources used for learning in other areas include Moodle, Coursera, Prometheus, Udemy, and more. This expansion of digital learning resources has highlighted some challenges, primarily in forming a single, large-scale integrated digital learning platform purpose-built for the public service en mass – however, both Studiya and Diia.Education provide potential for a wider collaboration and dissemination by NAUCS, and for the ability to absorb or categorise the wider network of available offerings.
Access to online training can be unequal across different staff and roles in the administration. HR officials from regional and frontline bodies report difficulties in scheduling, connectivity and allocating staff time for digital learning. Greater coherence in digital infrastructure and stronger user support mechanisms could enhance both reach and impact.
In 2020, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine established the position of CDTO – Chief Digital Transformation Officer. These staff are embedded within government bodies and are responsible for leading and implementing digital transformation across all areas of Ukrainian public life. Special training was created for these staff through “CDTO Campus”, an initiative dedicated to preparing CDTOs and their teams to be digital leaders capable of implementing innovative technological projects within public administration. Campus programs offer specialised education in GovTech, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, all tailored to the evolving needs of modern public governance. Campus instructors are experts with hands-on experience in leading digital transformation initiatives in the public sector, and course collaborations exist with Microsoft, Cisco, and AI HOUSE.
After a year of operation, CDTO Campus has implemented 12 training programs and more than 440 staff have completed the training. Further opportunities exist to train and upskill CDTOs, potentially through mentorship or mobility exchanges. The goal is to ensure that the skill level of CDTOs is consistently high across all areas of the public service, in order to ensure full implementation of digital and AI goals and initiatives.
Ministries and other state bodies also offer their own specialised training in-house. The Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are two examples. This is done because staff inside these ministries need specialised skill development and the expertise for these is found inside ministries or the need is specific to the Ministry. Sometimes, as it the case for the Ministry of Digital Transformation, a Ministry may offer its expertise or learning offerings it has developed more widely, for the benefit of the larger public service. This is frequently done in collaboration with the High School.
For the oblasts, there are regional training centres, founded and operated by oblast state administrations and sometimes in co-operation between regions and some city councils. These operate to provide on-site training for public servants outside of the capital region, though they can also provide some online or blended formats.
Ukraine has also aligned itself with outside technical support and international partnerships to buttress its learning offerings and development plans. Topics where this has happened include cyber security, foreign languages, and leadership development.
As Ukraine undertakes the complex task of reforming its public service in the context of war and European integration, the expansion and revitalisation of the High School of Public Governance has emerged as a critical pillar of institutional development. Established in 2022 as part of implementing the PAR strategy, the High School is now intended to be the main institution for the training and upskilling of public servants, including those in senior leadership roles. It now delivers a wide range of programmes aligned with current national priorities, including digital transformation, resilience, strategic planning, and EU accession.
The High School has multiple specialised centres, including those focused on:
digitalisation of professional training and development
assessment of candidates for civil service positions
development of managerial competences
professional development in the field of regional development and local self-government and the restoration of Ukraine
human rights
European and Euro-Atlantic integration
professional training in innovative tools and technologies in public administration
learning the official languages of the European Union and improving professional competences in the state language.
The High School manages national training platforms and has recently expanded its online course offerings. Crucially, it benefits from a renewed and committed leadership team, alongside a growing cadre of expert staff, many of whom are themselves public servants with practical experience. They aim to ensure that content remains timely, relevant, and responsive to real-world needs and can make a tangible impact on overall capacity growth.
This internal capacity has also helped the High School to respond rapidly to emerging demands, reinforcing its role as the national source for continuous learning. Emerging topics are also increasingly the responsibility of the High School. For example, an initiative – begun by Ukraine’s First Lady – focusing on mental health for civil servants who are suffering from effects of the war is being developed within the High School’s curriculum. This is linked to efforts to provide jobs within the civil service to veterans, while providing needed support – both to veterans themselves and to HR personnel to accommodate their needs.
While challenges remain, such as staffing gaps and limited resources, the High School’s development represents a significant step forward. Its flexible, targeted approach marks a shift toward a more professional, learning-oriented public administration. The presence of skilled educators and effective leadership within the High School sends an important signal about the value placed on learning in Ukraine’s reform agenda. By embedding a stronger culture of development and focusing on the practical competencies needed for EU integration and post-war recovery, the High School is helping to equip Ukraine’s civil service with the skills required for the future.
Ukraine’s recent efforts to strengthen its system for public sector learning and development reflect a growing recognition of the strategic importance of skills in driving reform and resilience. The revitalisation of the High School of Public Governance, alongside the development of a national learning strategy and action plan, represents a meaningful step toward building a more capable, professional public service. The institutional architecture is taking shape, with the NAUCS providing central oversight and the High School taking on a leadership role in training delivery. A permanent advisory body on training13 also exists under the NAUCS, which supports formation of related state policy, coordination between NAUCS and other stakeholders, and development of proposals on legislation about training.
This approach aligns well with models observed across OECD countries, where a mix of central coordination and decentralised delivery is common, as illustrated in the figure below. Across the OECD, countries are found to structure their overall learning systems in various ways, and there isn’t necessarily one right way. However, Ukraine’s decision to re-establish its school of government places it among the 50% of OECD countries with a dedicated training institution, and functions as a sign of long-term commitment to capacity building.
Note: N=37. More than one answer was possible. Original question: “Who is in charge of carrying out training and learning across the central/federal administration?”.
Source: OECD (2022), Survey on Public Service Leadership and Capability, Module 5 on Learning and Development
At the same time, the fragmented nature of the system could present a challenge if not managed well. With learning delivered through a variety of actors – including ministries, regional centres, external providers and international partners – ensuring coherence, quality and alignment with national objectives will require continued coordination and oversight as well as ongoing mapping of training offers with analysis of gaps and overlaps. It is also important not to rely too heavily on outside expertise, although there are cases and subject areas where this is more than warranted.
An important task for Ukraine and the NAUCS will be ensuring that its learning offering are coherent and well-managed from an over-arching point of view, as the strategy around learning continues to expand and the trainings on offer adapt alongside. This is a large undertaking, as it requires not only a systematic view of what courses and development opportunities need to be offered, but also what organisations are best placed to offer them and which staff to target, which itself requires skills needs analyses and performance evaluation assessments. It should not be underestimated just how big of a task this level of management and mapping is, and the impact that an exceptional learning and development system and strategy can have on an administrations capacity. Because of this, it is important that there is a long-term buy-in from the highest levels for a resourced, prioritised and well-implemented workforce development strategy.
The UK government undertook a comprehensive reform of its public service learning and development system through the Government Campus and Curriculum (GCC) initiative. This large-scale strategy, launched in 2021, aims to professionalise the civil service by integrating all training, learning, and development efforts under a single, coherent framework. The GCC provides structured career development and ensures that all 450 000 public servants have access to high-quality learning opportunities tailored to their roles and career stages.
The GCC is designed around five key learning strands, the “Curriculum” element:
Foundations of Public Administration – Core skills such as digital literacy and personal effectiveness.
Working in Government – Understanding public finance, governance, and policymaking.
Leading and Managing – Managerial and leadership development.
Specialist Skills – Professional training aligned with specific government professions/roles.
Domain Knowledge – Expertise in key policy areas and ministerial functions.
The "Campus" element of the GCC expands access to learning through a hybrid model, combining in-person training, online courses, and external learning platforms. This approach lowers barriers to training, promotes interdepartmental collaboration, and makes better use of government facilities and resources. By integrating learning across ministries, the GCC fosters cross-government networking and knowledge sharing, and importantly, allows training to be delivered by specialist areas.
A key ambition of the GCC is to leverage data and technology to personalise learning, track workforce skills, and identify training gaps. Plans include developing a skills database to catalogue employee competencies, allowing the government to quickly deploy expertise in times of crisis. Advanced analytics will also be used to measure training effectiveness, enhance course offerings, and improve workforce planning.
The UK government has prioritised sufficient resourcing for the GCC, with an estimated £300 million annual investment in L&D. The initiative is committed to continuous improvement, with a focus on embedding learning into public service culture. By modernising its training infrastructure and balancing digital with in-person learning, the UK aims to create a public service ready for the future.
Source: (OECD, 2023[10]).
Thinking even more broadly about more informal methods of learning and development can benefit the overall learning strategy and its outcomes
Effective adult learning is about more than only formal class- or course-based education. More and more, public administrations are embracing the full scope of how adults learn and incorporating these methods into overall learning plans (OECD, 2023[10]). In Ukraine, expanding the scope and scale of the total learning and development package holds substantial potential for making large strides in skill and capacity development. This means taking full advantage of things like informal and experiential learning, digital tools, and mobility opportunities.
Ukraine’s public administration reports to be increasingly incorporating informal and experiential learning into its broader development agenda, though the degree of strategic integration remains limited. Public servants are encouraged to complete a portion of their annual training credits through self-education, and institutions such as the High School of Public Governance now include elements like team-based problem solving and peer exchanges in their programmes. In practice, informal learning also takes place through participation in cross-sectoral task forces, such as those related to EU accession or collaborative planning, though this does not reach the majority of the public service workforce. It also happens through exposure to complex, real-time challenges, of which Ukraine currently faces many.
Some on-the-job and informal learning, for example participation in experience-sharing events and workshops and certain mentoring programmes, are recognised in Ukraine’s L&D structures and formalised in Ukrainian legislation as self-education.14 Self-education can encompass many learning initiatives that are not part of the formal training offerings/curriculum but can still be recognised and awarded European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits (discussed further below). This represents good progress towards a well-rounded learning system. However, many types of these valuable informal learning experiences are not yet systematically incorporated within Ukraine’s learning offerings and frameworks, as learning strategies offered by the administration focus predominantly on formal, course-based methods. Therefore, Ukraine can benefit from incorporating informal learning – such as through participating in networks, working on cross-sectoral teams, taking up temporary leadership roles on projects, or systematically sharing learning moments with colleagues – into its overall learning strategy.
Singapore and The Philippines are two examples of countries in which universities responsible for educating public service leaders, or future leaders, are now incorporating informal and experiential learning into their overall strategies and courses.
In Singapore, the Institute for Governance and Leadership at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) is using a 70:20:10 model of learning for structuring much of the training they offer. In the model, 70% of learning and development happens through experience, 20% happens through others (often by observing how others do things), and only 10% happens through classroom or similar courses or programmes. Because of this, LKYSPP has designed its Senior Fellowship in Public Service programmme to train leaders by a hands-on and experiential approach, putting them in action-oriented situations where they learn by doing alongside others, and have structured opportunities to reflect on what they learned. The whole programme is still strategic, structured and organised, but is not held in a traditional classroom format.
In The Philippines, at Ateneo School of Government, there is a growing focus on providing more informal training and “microcredentials” to upskill public servants on complex emerging subjects, including AI and new technology. There is also a call to better train public service leaders to manage in a multigenerational workforce, which has included a deepening of mentorship programmes. This has been partially in response to a recognised need to educate public servants differently than traditionally had been done, so that they contend with new and different modern policy challenges. The Philippines, like many countries in the region, is experiencing a rapid increase of young workers, with new and different skillsets and different perspectives on ways of working. This has an impact on the public service workforce, and also on the broader societal policy challenges they must respond to.
Mobility is another related and large-scale learning method, that within Ukraine’s public service has yet-untapped potential. While the legal framework allows for temporary assignments, secondments and internships, including opportunities abroad, it is not common for this to happen frequently in practice. The war has however provided some newer examples of this happening. For instance, the reassignment of staff to support administrations in regions led to on-the-ground learning and crisis management experience. Yet, these practices are not leveraged as part of a broader development strategy. Data on mobility is limited, and HR systems do not currently track or incentivise internal movement as a learning mechanism. More structured and utilised mobility schemes – including rotation programmes, short-term exchanges, and micro-assignments – could provide a low-resource but high-impact means of professional growth and learning.
The Belgian civil service has implemented various mobility programmes to promote the movement of public servants within and across organisations, as well as between different governmental levels. They aim to develop skills and competencies among public servants while allowing the workforce to be restructured according to both short-term and long-term demands. Mobility programmes in the Belgian civil service increased flexibility, and streamlined hiring processes, particularly for hard-to-fill positions. There are existing programmes for both longer-term and temporary mobility.
Longer-term mobility in the Belgian civil service is categorised into three types:
Internal Mobility: Within the same organisation. Opportunities are usually published internally, with larger organisations finding this system more effective compared to smaller ones.
Intra-federal Mobility: Between organisations within the federal administration. Vacancies are posted on an internal website, creating an internal market for job opportunities. This channel simplifies hiring compared to external recruitment and is more ad-hoc.
Inter-federal Mobility: Between different governmental levels. This only accounts for less than 1% of mobility cases due to the differing reward systems and potential relocation costs.
Temporary mobility allows the public sector to react flexibly to urgent, short-term needs, such as during health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic when one organisation saw 97.3% of new hires coming as temporary staff from other areas of the administration. Belgium has several programmes for temporary mobility, notably:
Special Federal Forces: This programme addresses urgent temporary needs for specific assignments or projects. Opportunities are announced through a launch call followed by a simplified selection process.
Talent Exchange: This programme enables the exchange of employees at all levels across from federal to provincial services for 6 to 18 months.
Human resources units and internal communication and play crucial roles in promoting these mobility programmes, and managers are expected to encourage staff to use them. Additional support includes career guidance and career coaching provided by the federal career centre.
Reinforcing motivations for development and maintaining a learning culture can become a strategic long-term priority
Another challenge for learning in Ukraine is that access to high-quality learning opportunities can be uneven across the administration and constrained by multiple factors. While participation in training is formally linked to performance evaluation to some degree, and a minimum threshold of European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits is required annually, in practice, many institutions struggle to release staff for learning due to operational pressures, alongside the very high workload on the most vital staff.
There may also not be enough capacity in certain high-demand courses. HR representatives have reported instances where course places are oversubscribed by three times their capacity. Access can be especially limited to regional bodies where online training isn’t an option (or for courses which genuinely warrant in-person attendance). Furthermore, training budgets remain constrained, as the country’s administration faces ongoing financial constraints (especially during the war). The system is also under pressure to expand access to senior-level development, particularly for strategic planning, EU integration, and resilience. Without sustained investment in both training supply and quality and the institutional conditions for participation, there is a risk that capacity gaps will persist despite the overall expansion of offerings. Addressing this will require stronger leadership accountability for development, targeted funding support, and continued efforts to embed learning into the everyday expectations of public service careers.
High-functioning and future-ready public services are generally ones with a high degree of job-relevant learning and development taking place throughout the career course. Countries that do very well at this have strong learning cultures. A learning culture encourages, supports, and rewards learning, shaping an environment where it's embraced and expected by employees, managers, and the wider organisation. When such a culture is in place, continuous development moves from being seen as a chore, an optional extra, or uninspiring, to being linked with personal growth, job impact and fulfilment, and career advancement. Learning is not only necessary and expected but, ideally, welcomed. Building a learning culture is a complex process. It involves more than just offering learning opportunities; it also requires the right structures, systems, and incentives (and removing disincentives) to allow and motivate employees to learn and apply new knowledge and skills in their everyday work.
Some of the elements that make up and exemplify a learning culture are outlined in Figure 5.5.
Ukraine is taking steps to build a learning culture in its civil service. Some learning is expected, with public servants required to complete at least one (1.0) ECTS credit of training per year, including a portion through self-directed learning. Learning needs are assessed to some extent by the NAUCS (more on this in the next section), and priority topics have included leadership development, digital skills, communication, and post-war recovery. Completion of professional development activities contributes to performance evaluations; civil servants must complete at least 0.4 ECTS credits through their individual learning plans, by the time of their evaluation, to receive the highest rating.15 Managers are encouraged, to a certain extent, to ensure staff take part in training, and there are some programmes for senior leadership development, including mentoring and thematic learning schools.
However, Ukraine still faces several challenges in embedding a stronger learning culture. While participation in training is formally required, the volume and depth remain limited, and learning is not yet built into everyday work. It could be unintentionally positioned as an optional or extra task, rather than a core part of professional responsibilities. OECD good practice would instead make learning integral to career development and performance expectations, through non-financial incentives such as evaluation feedback and promotion decisions. Managers are also integral to this: while managers are encouraged to support learning, most are not held accountable for team development. This can be addressed through providing support for managers to have the needed skills to undertake this team development, and through decisions about the selection for managerial posts.
Figure 5.6 shows how OECD countries manage the incentive mix for learning, to begin to build learning cultures. There is an emerging trend to tie learning to career growth, promotion decisions, and feedback – recognising the importance of making learning an expected part of the job. Importantly, very few OECD countries tie learning to any form of financial incentive.
Percentage of responding OECD countries
Note: n=30, Question asked: “What types of incentives for learning and development are used?”
Source: OECD (2022), Survey on Public Service Leadership and Capability, Module 5 on Learning and Development
Research in Ukraine highlights some barriers that limit progress and can be addressed to build a stronger learning culture over time. Time and scheduling remain a key issue, because the busiest public servants struggle to attend training without compromising core duties, especially during the current situation in Ukraine. While regulations cap training funding at no more than 2% of the payroll fund, current (2025) spending on learning is around just 0.1%, due to financial constraints stemming from the war.
Further, incentives are not clearly tied to career advancement. Interviewees also pointed to resistance to change, a lack of motivation to engage in training in some cases, and concern or hesitation around adopting new technologies and upskilling for new positions. Some things to consider could be flexible scheduling and backfilling to accommodate important training and signal its necessity, clearer career-related rewards for development, and continually stronger support for learning at the organisational level. Additionally, management should be held accountable for developing their staff, and indeed themselves continually and visibly partake in training. Addressing these gaps will be critical to building a public service in Ukraine, where learning is not only encouraged, but expected and supported as part of everyday work.
Ensuring stability and institutional support for learning is key to the development of a highly capable public service workforce
Following the above analysis, it becomes paramount that Ukraine’s learning and development systems are given long-term support and buy-in from leadership, related institutions, and legislative structures. Ensuring stability and strong support for learning and development in Ukraine’s public administration is both a strategic priority and an ongoing challenge. While progress has been made – particularly with the adoption of a national learning strategy and the revitalisation of the High School of Public Governance – implementation capacity remains uneven and financial resources directed to training are reportedly not high enough to address all needs.
Staffing is one key constraint. institutions responsible for training, such as the High School and regional training centres, report persistent vacancies and difficulty attracting and retaining qualified staff, particularly outside the capital region. Capacity and skill issues are compounded by limited and often unstable funding streams, which restrict the ability to plan for the long term and deliver learning at scale or to respond flexibly to emerging needs. Without predictable investment and sufficient staffing, the system risks over-reliance on a small number of individuals and institutions, or external providers and piece-meal technical support, undermining resilience, independence and sustainability.
Leadership prioritisation and organisational buy-in are both important for Ukraine going forward. Although NAUCS plays a central role in long-term strategy, coordinating learning and monitoring compliance, the degree to which learning is embedded in institutional cultures varies. In some ministries and local authorities, training is treated as a formal requirement rather than a strategic tool, with staff development plans left incomplete or inadequately resourced. Leadership turnover and competing operational pressures can further reduce attention to workforce development. Strengthening institutional support for learning will require more than strategies and document on paper; it demands visible and consistent prioritisation by senior leadership, adequate and well-planned budgeting, and strong incentives for participation ideally within an overall learning culture. Embedding learning within performance frameworks, linking it to career progression, and holding managers accountable for team development could help embed learning as an institutional imperative for the future of Ukraine.
Identifying and Focusing on the Most-Needed Skills for a Future-Ready Ukrainian Public Service
In a circumstance of ongoing, urgent, and competing priorities, innumerable skill types are being called upon in Ukraine and will continue to be in the future. While a heavy emphasis on workforce capability development is warranted, certain skillsets are even more urgently needed that others. With finite resources, both in terms of employee time and the feasible ability to design and offer effective learning opportunities, Ukraine’s learning and development strategy must place particular emphasis on the most-needed skills to have maximum impact for the future of the public service.
This section of the chapter discusses a preliminary analysis of these skill areas, beginning with a focus on more systematically identifying them in coming years to ensure a well-informed learning and development strategy that uses planning and foresight to address skill needs.
Strategically and systematically identifying the most needed skills can increase effectiveness of learning efforts and efficiency of resources
As Ukraine rebuilds and advances, its public service must prioritise developing the most urgently needed skills and critical competencies to effectively manage and address the challenges ahead. Under emergency measures during the war, certain skills were called upon more than others and some skillsets may have been delayed in ongoing development. Other skills may have been depleted when members of the workforce went to serve in the war and must be considered and evaluated as staff can return to the public service workforce. The capacity of departments can be evaluated compared to pre-war capacity, however the most needed skillsets were in need before the war as well – however will be even more essential in the post-war period, when the demands on high functioning of the civil service will be heightened.
The section below this outlines some of these areas, identified by OECD analysis undertaken through extensive discussion with public servants, their managers, and the executive level. However, this work is preliminary, and a more thorough and ongoing strategy for identifying skills needs in Ukraine is a key recommendation of this report. The figure below illustrates some of the methods for skill needs identification used across OECD countries.
Note: Number of OECD countries, n=36 Question asked: How does your country’s public service identify skills and competencies to prioritise for training?
Source: OECD (2022), Survey on Public Service Leadership and Capability, Module 5 on Learning and Development
The figure points to a tendency for countries to seek feedback mostly from managers, and to rely heavily on these perspectives rather than also including other more strategic or systematic methods, such as via workforce planning, assessment of actual skills or training outcomes, or seeking input from staff themselves. While these data show the number of OECD countries using each method, it is important to note that countries that are more advanced in this area are getting far more systematic and analytical about the data they use to identify skills gaps and are going well beyond sourcing feedback from managers. For its part, Ukraine reports to use all of the above strategies for skill identification except for two: strategic workforce planning and following the best practices of other countries.
One of the common methods used in Ukraine is the collection of feedback from state bodies on training needs through the questionnaire "Analysis of Needs for the Institutional Capacity and Staffing of Public Authorities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Analysis of Needs"). This assessment is conducted by the NAUCS and the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union. A methodology for completing the questionnaire is available to state bodies. Within the specified timeframe, the state bodies submit the completed information to the Center and the NAUCS.
The Analysis of Needs is used to systematise the needs of state bodies for professional support in fulfilling Ukraine's international legal obligations in the field of European integration and to more broadly identify where skill development is needed. In its fourth year, it is conducted as part of the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy for 2022–2025, and a report on the results is submitted to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The analysis follows a formalised methodology issued by NAUCS and was updated in 2024 to broaden the scope of the assessment, adding oblast administrations to the analysis as well as the Kyiv City State Administration.
The list of structural units involved in the needs analysis has also been expanded. Initially focused on structural units responsible for legislative harmonisation and general European integration coordination, the 2024 edition also includes units involved in the implementation of other international obligations and co-operation with development partners. This expansion has enabled a more comprehensive understanding of the staffing and institutional capacity landscape across public authorities including those more engaged in European integration. It should be noted that fulfilling requirements for accession into organisations such as the EU should not be considered as a matter for selected structural units, but rather as a global process that permeates the whole of the public administration. In this sense, in order to have a larger impact on integration, the Analysis of Needs can be used to enhance information for augmenting capacity across the civil service.
The Analysis of Needs plays a practical role in identifying existing skills and capacity gaps within the public service. Its findings indicate that while there has been a slight improvement in institutional capacity for the original two categories of units since 2023, the overall reported needs have increased. This rise is attributed largely to the methodological expansion, which has brought to light unmet needs not previously captured, but which already existed. Insights from the Analysis of Needs are useful input for strategic workforce planning and support better alignment between institutional responsibilities and staffing structures. Its continued implementation has the potential to inform targeted capacity development measures, helping to ensure that Ukraine’s public administration is adequately resourced to meet the growing and complex demands placed on it.
Information from the Analysis of Needs, on needed skills and on overall capacity, is then used to design learning offerings and decide on courses to offer, along with feeding into an overall report. Therefore, at present in Ukraine, skill needs identification in the public service – and the integration of findings into development strategies – is progressing, with large potential for expansion especially beyond the focus of EU integration, over time. The country could expand its number of data points to identify skills needs and on other aspects of learning, while also continuing to build up its use of data in overall strategic planning of the workforce. Data not only serve to enhance strategic decision-making and inform decisions but can also be useful in facilitating cultural changes and enhancing learning strategies, which contribute to the overall development of a workforce.
Prioritising key capabilities: Preliminary identification of five most-needed skills areas in the Ukrainian public service
OECD research has been able to identify certain skill areas where there appears to be a greater need for development in Ukraine. Several forms of evidence inform this preliminary outline of the most urgently needed skills, including fact-finding interviews with several levels of staff, a dedicated questionnaire, collaboration with country-expert colleagues within the OECD, and review of documents internal to Ukraine. These areas are outlined in the following section. It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a recommendation on areas to potentially prioritise in order to meet the immediate future needs of the Ukrainian public service as well as align with capabilities of benchmarked EU and OECD countries.
Ukraine has also identified priority areas to focus immediate learning efforts. The top five across each level of staff are displayed in the figure below. It is notable that many of these do align closely with OECD analysis, demonstrating a clear understanding in Ukraine of the impact enhanced development efforts are expected to have. Ukraine is also making an ongoing effort to evaluate the skills needed to type of positions and job classifications, making positive strides towards a skills-based method of workforce management and recruitment.
Note: Skills identified by Ukraine officials who completed the OECD Public Governance Survey to Ukraine 2024. The question allowed to select only five answers for each category of employee. Ukrainian counterparts expanded on the available options, adding English language and post-war recovery as priorities among leadership, as well as perceptions of changes among category C staff. Perception of Change is defined by Ukraine as “the ability to accept change and transform (perception of strategic plans and goals, organisational changes in the organisation, etc.) and the ability to manage one's own ‘resistance to change’.”
Source: OECD Public Governance Survey to Ukraine 2024
Leadership and strategic management for change and reform
Significant challenges exist in Ukraine in sourcing and retaining skilled leadership within the public service. Turnover in the public service is highest in management roles (OECD, 2024[3]), although the greater picture of the reasons behind this is unclear. For example, it is not always clear if people are leaving roles by their choice or because of a decision by the administration. Additionally, the previously mentioned complexities around Martial Law and having to fire and re-hire people for promotions is a further complicating factor in analysis. Nevertheless, advancements can be made on this front by addressing the procedures through which managers are selected, making it more merit-based and transparent so that hiring is done based on skill and performance. While this merit-based process is expected to resume and improve following the lifting of martial law, or the passing of a proposal to resume this earlier, work targeting the development of leadership and strategic management skills can also target the development of existing managers, or staff who may become managers through a leadership pipeline and the active identification of future leaders.
Ukraine has some procedures in place to support integrity of the senior civil service, through a questionnaire and background check for candidates for certain positions, which functions in collaboration with the national agency on corruption prevention. There are also high-level events and concerted efforts to publicise and signal the importance of integrity in the senior civil service. This can help ensure integrity and is a worthwhile and positive step to be recognised.
In addition to this, leaderships skills can become a larger focus. Skilled senior leadership is indispensable for an overall effective public service. However, it is important to note that the operational environment in which the executive groups works is just as important. Highly capable staff must be able to do their jobs with the tools and systems required, and function with appropriate degrees of autonomy – although, importantly, with the right accountability frameworks – while being endowed with advance decision-making and team-leading skills. The figure below is an OECD matrix that illustrated this concept, showing that the goal in an OECD senior public service is to function in the top right double-green quadrant, in which senior leaders are both highly skilled and working within an enabling operating environment.
Source: (Gerson, 2020[11])
Strong, practical co-operation has emerged and developed between oblasts (first-level administrative divisions, of which there are 24) in Ukraine in response to the war. Regional administrations have demonstrated a high degree of solidarity, using both formal and informal channels to support one another in the face of shared operational challenges. Heads of HR departments and administrative apparatuses across oblasts have established regular communication through dedicated channels, which now serve as platforms for sharing documents, resolving urgent queries, and coordinating responses to evolving policy and staffing demands. This peer-to-peer exchange is described as both responsive and empowering, with oblasts providing each other with advice, examples, and even moral support during periods of extreme strain and crisis.
This inter-oblast co-operation has extended beyond information sharing to more substantive coordination. One region described how, at the height of internal displacement, their phone lines were “ringing all the time” with calls from other oblasts asking for help with accommodating evacuees or sending food or supplies – an example of administrative solidarity and capacity in action and of the resilience of the public sector in Ukraine. The establishment of a national group of chiefs of staff from regional administrations, initiated by the oblasts themselves, is another sign of institutional maturity and improvised leadership. Despite limited resources and complex working conditions, these collaborative efforts have helped maintain a sense of cohesion across the territorial administration, reinforcing the resilience of Ukraine’s public service at a critical time.
Skills for evidence-based policy development and implementation
For public sector managers to be effective decision-makers, they must be well-versed in the use of evidence and the principles of policy design and implementation. In Ukraine’s public service, the ability to formulate, assess, and execute policy based on empirical evidence is a necessity for good governance. Ukraine has made progress in recent years, for example with the introduction of the Government Priority Action Plan (GPAP) and improvements to the Rules of Procedure. However, strategic planning suffers from fragmentation and a lack of clarity around institutional responsibilities. These issues are compounded by skills gaps, especially in policy formulation and performance-based planning. Stakeholders interviewed noted that while various assessments and frameworks exist on paper, they are not yet fully embedded into operational practice. As a result, decision-making remains largely “experience-based” or reactive, rather than systematically evidence-based and forward-looking. A number of stakeholders also noted that strategic plans are often drafted primarily to meet external funding or donor requirements, rather than as genuine tools for government steering.
To address these challenges, Ukraine can further prioritise the development of institutional capacity for evidence-based policymaking and strategic planning. This includes not only upskilling managers to work with data and analysis, but also creating clearer mandates, procedures, and tools to help translate plans into delivery (as discussed in the dedicated chapter 2 on strategic planning in this publication). Enhancing planning capacity, especially in areas such as healthcare, infrastructure and regional development, will require both training and stronger institutional guidance. Ongoing investments in training offer a foundation for progress but must be accompanied by reforms to ensure planning systems are used as instruments for delivery.
Digital and data competencies
Digital and data competencies are essential across all levels of Ukraine’s public service, but the specific skills and understanding required vary depending on position and responsibility. While not every civil servant needs to be a cybersecurity expert or programmer, a fundamental level of digital literacy is becoming increasingly urgent to ensure the efficiency, security, and responsiveness of public administration in Ukraine. The Ministry of Digital Transformation has made significant strides in this area, including the creation of a Digital Competency Framework for Civil Servants (more in the box below), and a national digital literacy test.
Still, much more can be done to ensure a higher level of digital literacy overall. Fact-finding interviews revealed significant disparities in digital proficiency across the public service workforce. In some institutions, leaders struggle with basic IT tasks, requiring assistance for routine digital processes, while in others, departments are spearheading advanced initiatives in open data, digital governance, AI, and automation. This inconsistency highlights the need for a more structured and widespread approach to digital capacity-building. To address these gaps, digital training can be prioritised and can also be tailored to the needs of different roles. For senior officials and managers, data-driven decision-making and cybersecurity awareness for examples are crucial to ensuring informed governance and security, and digital knowledge allows leaders to champion digital transformation projects. Meanwhile, mid-level civil servants may require proficiency in digital tools, information management, and secure online communication, and frontline staff must be equipped with basic digital skills to navigate government systems efficiently.
Since its establishment in 2019, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has led a significant effort to raise digital competencies across the civil service and Ukraine as a whole. Evidence of this can be seen in growth and success across global rankings and indices. Ukraine has risen from 102nd to 5th in the UN’s Online Services Index (Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, 2024[12]) and sits fifth globally for the development of digital public services as of 2024. The country ranks first in the E-Participation indicator,16 which measures the extent to which citizens are ready to engage in government processes through online platforms.
A key milestone in this work pertaining directly to the civil service has been the development of the Digital Competence Framework for Civil Servants (Ministry of Digital Transformaation of Ukraine, n.d.[13]), which sets out a structure for building and assessing digital skills, based on the EU’s DigComp model but tailored to the Ukrainian public sector. The framework outlines 20 core competencies across five domains, covering areas such as cybersecurity, digital content creation, and professional digital interaction. It is already being used to support professional development planning, certification, and the integration of digital requirements into civil service roles.
Since the onset of the war, the Ministry’s digital agenda has taken on heightened urgency. While it was originally created to help the administration go paperless, the demand for increased digital and cyber capacities in government has grown significantly, and the Ministry has expanded its activities accordingly – including targeted training for civil servants, educators, and medical personnel. Over 113 000 public servants have already completed a digital literacy certification (Digigram for Civil Servants), supported by online resources,17 practical tools, and collaboration with other ministries.
The work of the Ministry is being delivered by a highly capable team of digital professionals who bring technical expertise, policy acumen, and a strong sense of public purpose to their roles. The work is extremely needed and of value that likely cannot be overstated given the current context.
Interviews with regional administrations in oblasts also underscored the critical need for media and digital literacy, particularly in countering misinformation and improving public engagement. Additionally, local government representatives pointed out that while digital transformation is a national priority, there is insufficient technical support and funding to implement necessary changes at the local level. Strengthening digital competencies will require a combination of formal training, leadership buy-in, and incentives for continuous learning, ensuring that Ukraine’s public service can leverage technology effectively in both daily operations and long-term policy implementation, along with for national security. As the country moves toward EU integration and post-war reconstruction, bridging these digital skill gaps will be essential for modernising public administration and creating a future-ready public service.
The rapid evolution of the digital age and AI technology means that sector leaders need to keep informed and understand the changes and technology in order to be effective in their roles. Recognising this, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) launched a programme called Public Leadership in the Digital Age (PLDA), which aims to equip leaders with the essential skills and knowledge to navigate this landscape and make prepared policy decisions. The program focuses on modern digital tools, data utilisation, cybersecurity, digital identity, and the ethical use of AI.
Recognising that public sector leaders can feel overwhelmed and unprepared in the face of fast-paced technological changes the programme provides training on a mix of tools, knowledge, and mindsets required to harness digital opportunities and mitigate challenges. AI can significantly enhance government operations and service delivery but achieving this transformation and doing so ethically and with confidence requires approaching technological advances with the right knowledge to make informed decisions about its use and function.
The PLDA programme is designed to help leaders understand and leverage the opportunities and risks of the digital age. It offers a foundational literacy in digital leadership, assembling various ideas, research, and expertise to guide participants in constructing their own strategies. While it is not a comprehensive solution, the programme serves as a crucial starting point for identifying and integrating the necessary skills and capabilities for effective public leadership in the digital era. More recently, the Australian Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) and the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) have jointly developed a Data, Digital and Cyber Workforce Plan, which provides a co-ordinated, whole-of-government approach to addressing common workforce challenges, recognising both the complexities of the external environment and the central role of digital and data capabilities in achieving government objectives.
Source: (ANZSOG, 2024[14])
Diplomacy, communication and EU-related governance skills
Skills related to international diplomacy, EU alignment, and communicating about the work of the administration externally, are essential across Ukraine’s public administration, as the scope and intensity of international engagement continues to increase and change shape. These competencies are not confined to the diplomatic service alone; they are relevant across ministries, agencies, and regional authorities involved in cooperation with EU institutions, cooperative defence structures, and a growing number of bilateral and multilateral partners. Strengthening skills in areas such as alignment with EU standards, international coordination, and strategic communication will be critical to ensuring that Ukraine is well positioned to navigate complex external processes, including accession dialogues and regulatory discussions.
Languages are also vitally important. While strong language proficiency – particularly in English – is an asset for those operating in international-facing roles, stakeholders consistently noted that the overall level of confidence and capability in international communication could be further enhanced. Building the capacity of more public servants to clearly present their work and engage with international counterparts would support more effective collaboration and ensure that Ukraine is able to fully represent its reform efforts and technical achievements on the global stage. This is particularly important given the breadth and depth of international coordination now required, ranging from EU accession-related reform planning to the management of external assistance and joint programming. Several institutions reported progress in this area, including widespread uptake of English language training supported by international partners, and the rollout of leadership courses focused on EU integration, intercultural competence, and strategic dialogue. Continued investment in these capabilities – especially beyond the capital and central institutions – is important in ensuring that Ukraine’s public service can confidently and consistently engage in international governance processes.
Autonomy, problem-solving and analytical thinking
Across many of the fact-finding interviews for this report, officials emphasised the need for public servants to act with greater initiative, apply critical thinking, and adapt to evolving challenges. This was especially apparent in regional and frontline organisations, where public servants have been required to assume new responsibilities in the absence of full staffing or functional infrastructure. For example, officials in Kharkiv described having to continue operations after their main offices were destroyed by bombing, relying on remote work and improvisation to maintain continuity. Strengthening public servants’ ability to think strategically, evaluate complex situations, and propose viable solutions will be essential to support effective and flexible governance and resilience in recovery and growth.
However, as several interviewees in the research of this project noted, this shift requires both a cultural change and targeted support. In many institutions, there is a strong tendency to avoid individual responsibility or defer upwards for decision-making, which can hinder problem-solving and innovative thinking. There were discussions in research interviews of a broad “lack of initiative” to be a catalyst for transformation, and reluctance to take ownership for change, particularly when there is uncertainty or institutional instability. Managerial accountability in general is a problematic skill area that Ukraine is advised to work to address. Identified in a 2018 SIGMA report, enhanced managerial accountability is urgently needed to align with EU requirements (Klaas, Marcinkowski and Lazarević, 2018[15]). Managers need to be able to innovate, delegate, be and stay informed, and have a certain degree of autonomy – with appropriate checks and balances – to make decisions.
Addressing these issues and skill/competency gaps will involve not only embedding analytical and problem-solving skills into professional development opportunities and evaluation frameworks, but also enabling a working environment that encourages independent judgement and constructive innovation. Positive examples do exist – for instance, institutions that have introduced project management training, or those where leadership encourages open discussion and brainstorming – but they remain unevenly distributed.
While conducting recruitment during the period of the suspension of the standardised procedures, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy (MoECO) has implemented a more tailored internal process to continue staffing essential roles and target the most qualified workers. While still not a full substitute for competitive selection, this approach reflects a deliberate effort to move closer to merit-based recruitment – voluntarily in the absence of mandated open competition – by identifying candidates with the appropriate competencies, motivation, and alignment with public service values. It offers a practical response to current constraints, aiming to ensure a degree of consistency and professionalism in hiring.
The process is structured around both technical criteria and behavioural indicators. Job descriptions outline formal qualifications alongside desired competencies and values, such as initiative, responsibility, and openness. A standardised interview format is used, featuring reflective questions on professional experience, achievements, leadership style, and individual motivations. This enables a more rounded view of candidates and supports the identification of people likely to perform effectively in demanding roles. As opposed to some areas of Ukraine’s public service, the number of applicants to MoECO posts is often high – over 3 000 for 26 vacancies in one period – the Ministry reports that only a small share fully meets the expectations set for both technical fit and workplace ethos. Their method helps to find the most qualified staff and considers the scope of competencies required of high-performing staff.
This approach has also helped to partially mitigate challenges related to attraction, therefore going beyond traditional recruitment approaches. By offering clearer communication about roles and expectations – including what kind of work environment and values applicants can expect – the Ministry aims to appeal to candidates who are not only qualified but likely to be motivated by public service. While limitations remain, particularly in the absence of broader competitive mechanisms, the Ministry’s efforts represent a constructive attempt to uphold recruitment standards under difficult conditions.
Establishing and administering processes and procedures that reinforce workforce development in the Ukrainian public service
This subject is vitally important following the two previously discussed issues, because those sections cannot be institutionalised and implemented without human resource systems in place to enforce and maintain them. Learning and development opportunities, that target the right skills, are supported and reinforced by performance management systems that incentivise learning and the use of skills on the job. A transformative workforce and development learning culture requires institutional processes that embed professional development into daily operations and decision-making. Some key factors of this, as they pertain to Ukraine, are outlined here.
Implementing a modern performance management system is vital to the modernisation and development of the public service workforce
Effective and comprehensive performance management systems are a staple of any large-scale workforce management. These systems include elements such as performance evaluations at department and individual levels, setting of objectives and targets, feedback cycles, training opportunities, ensuring promotions are based on merit and performance, and providing growth and career pathways.
Ukraine has begun to implement workforce performance management to some degree, though efforts are somewhat slowed by the pause of merit-based decision making in hiring. More extensive strategic planning in HR and more substantive frameworks procedures, such as competency frameworks or more widely instituted individual performance evaluations, would be useful in advancing overall workforce performance management. As substantial progress is being made in HR reforms, there is high potential in Ukraine for changes in HR policy and procedures that can be widely impactful for the overall workforce capacity and development.
Implementing and utilising substantive performance evaluation
Individual performance evaluation/assessment can be a key tool in overall workforce performance management, strategy and planning. Some examples of the types of actions that can be taken for performance management based on the results of performance evaluation, are outlined below. These are divided into actions for decision-making, and actions for development.
Recent OECD research collected data from Member countries on how they use performance evaluation results in workforce management. These questions were also extended to NAUCS in Ukraine as part of the research stage of this project. The results allow for a comparison of Ukraine’s practices with OECD countries. The figure below illustrates the findings, showing that Ukraine falls lower on the matrix for using performance evaluation results in workforce management, and tends to use them more for decisions on progression or pay than on development of staff’s skills. This leaves a lot of room for a greater use of these in Ukraine.
Source: OECD Public Governance Survey to Ukraine 2024
These decisions, of course, require that the performance evaluation itself is accurate, managed and substantive in the sense that assessments reflect actual performance and effort. Substantive individual performance evaluation is a key aspect of any workforce performance management system. Ukraine has some performance evaluations; however, these do not cover all staff and are further problematic in that the majority of staff that do receive evaluations get high ratings, and those ratings are tied to financial bonuses which have become largely expected as part of a salary package rather than considered an extra for exceptional performance. The pressure and expectation tied to the handing out of financial bonuses, especially under a system where salaries are not competitive, can create a situation in which managers and staff expect high ratings for everyone, which do not necessarily reflect true performance, and that can disincentivise the hardest workers. To begin to address this, Ukraine has recently limited the use and amount of bonuses. This is partially intended to reduce influence assessment decisions when they are tied to bonuses.
On the surface, Ukraine’s public service performance evaluation system is designed to assess staff annually against the completion of specific tasks and key performance indicators, with the aim of informing decisions on bonuses, development needs, and career planning. The current model provides three official rating categories – excellent, positive, and negative – assigned based on aggregated scores ranging from 0 to 4 for each assigned task. These scores are intended to reflect timeliness, quality, initiative, ethical standards, and, notably, participation in professional development, with 0.4 ECTS credits required to be already completed (out of 1.0 for the year) to be eligible for an excellent rating.
While this structure offers a clear framework, its practical application suggests a strong skew toward top ratings: in 2024, of the 132 Category A civil servants evaluated, 92 received excellent and 40 positive ratings. Similarly, within NAUCS itself, 73 out of 91 staff received excellent ratings. Such distributions – across any country – can indicate that the system is insufficiently robust to distinguish varying levels of performances, which is essential to tie into promotion and pay decisions, and inform workforce and growth strategy. It can be noted that, while this can be the case, there is nothing concrete to indicate that these evaluations are in fact skewed within NAUCS – especially given the relatively small sample size and difficult working conditions currently ongoing. In Ukraine, the criteria for rating are formally detailed – including descriptors for each task score and aggregation rule.
The performance assessment system in Ukraine is not yet used systematically to inform broader HR planning across the public service. NAUCS, while responsible for coordinating policy, only holds evaluation data for its own staff and Category A officials; it lacks comprehensive oversight of ratings across other ministries or regions – although amendments to the LAC will mandate that this information is collected yearly over the longer term. This current situation limits the utility of evaluation results as a diagnostic tool for institutional performance or for identifying system-wide skills gaps. If there are inconsistencies in how institutions implement evaluations, such as whether ratings are linked to meaningful development or progression opportunities, this could undermine the credibility and usefulness of the system.
However, as a caveat to the above, it is very important to note that using evaluation results effectively in performance management across a workforce requires a system in which individual managers are appropriately supported and incentivised to conduct performance assessment of their staff properly. This is a precondition to their use overall, and a challenge in many countries across the OECD as well as in Ukraine. A culture of performance management must be present, well-managed and entrenched in the overall system – which itself requires reform to achieve.
Reform efforts are underway, with proposals to move away from punitive aspects (such as automatic dismissal following one negative rating – which in practice rarely or never happens – towards a system that requires a second negative evaluation18) toward a more developmental and motivational model (which also allows for better chances at promotion with excellent ratings). For performance evaluation to support strategic workforce development effectively, several structural issues can be addressed. These include improved standardisation in scoring practices, greater transparency in the distribution of ratings, and comprehensive data collection across all staff categories and institutions. Strengthening managerial capability to conduct evaluations and provide feedback that informs development plans and develops teams overall is essential. Linking evaluation outcomes more clearly with training, mobility, and promotion opportunities, and integrating these into a broader HR information system, could turn performance evaluation into a core aspect of the overall HR function.
Growth and promotion based on performance and merit
An area that Ukraine appears to demonstrate strength in is its ability to allow quicker growth for high performers within its public service, which distinguishes it positively among many countries. Unlike many administrations where seniority automatically dictates progression, in several Ukrainian ministries and agencies, performance is central to advancement decisions and managers report being able to promote deserving staff. For example, ministries such as the Ministry of Economy have adopted management cultures where motivated individuals can progress irrespective of tenure. This environment enables the promotion of younger or mid-career staff with the requisite skills, especially in preparation for post-war reconstruction and EU integration.
Nonetheless, significant challenges remain in ensuring fairness and meritocracy across the system. The ongoing state of martial law has suspended competitive appointments, and in its place, a considerable proportion of influential roles are being filled without open or merit-based selection processes. Stakeholders across the administration expressed concerns that political interests or expediency can sometimes override performance credentials in leadership appointments. This inconsistency undermines the credibility of reform and risks demotivating public servants who invest in professional growth. Strengthening safeguards and oversight around senior appointments, particularly through the restoration and reinforcement of competitive selection processes, is essential to consolidate Ukraine’s progress in professionalising its public service and allowing for career growth inside it.
Development, implementation and use of competency frameworks
In countries with well-developed public workforce systems, competency frameworks are often a key tool for effective human resource management. These frameworks go beyond basic eligibility criteria to define the skills, behaviours, and attributes needed to perform successfully in specific roles and at different levels of responsibility. Importantly, they are not standalone documents, but rather they are actively used across HR processes such as recruitment, promotion, performance evaluation, skills gap analysis, training, and workforce planning. When well implemented, they help public administrations systematically identify and develop talent, close competency gaps, and align individual performance with organisational goals. They also help to signal what the administration values in its workforce and allow for more strategic workforce planning. A gap between recommended competencies and their use in HR processes limits the ability of institutions to take a strategic approach to workforce development.
In Ukraine, the existing approach does not yet constitute a substantive competency framework in this sense. What currently exists are generally position-based requirements, such as education level and years of experience, as set out in Article 20 of the Law on Civil Service and related regulations. These general and special requirements vary by job category and are intended to ensure a minimum standard for entry.
For Category A executive positions, there are some guidelines on the leadership competencies needed: leadership, communication and interaction, understanding of public policy, strategic vision, change management and innovation, integrity, adherence to ethical conduct rules, and abstract thinking. This represents a considerable start on forming a substantive framework for deeper integration into procedures. However, it is not clear to what extent these are further developed or adhered to in appointment decisions or performance reviews. Moving toward a comprehensive and applied competency framework will require sustained leadership commitment, clear institutional ownership, and capacity-building for HR units and line managers.
Developing competency frameworks can take quite a bit of longer-term effort, but once this foundation tool is created, it can have enormous effects in workforce management and development. Box 5.11 outlines one such framework developed by the OECD in Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In 2022-23, the OECD, Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and the European Commission jointly developed a new managerial competency framework or use within the Ministry. The focus of this framework is on managerial competencies for managing periods of change, specifically in the context and managers within the MEF, though its elements further support good management skills and capacities generally.
The analysis for the needs and context of the framework was multi-faceted, deploying several research sources. For example, several workshops were held in Rome with a dedicated working group from the MEF. This group was comprised of a group of senior managers, holding different roles and with various tenures and experiences in the Ministry and in the Italian public service more broadly. Four international exchanges were also held, enabling the sharing of good practices and successful experiences in developing competency frameworks and using them in HR practices.
The final competency framework has three main competency areas: competencies to do with relationships, competencies to do with actions, and competencies to do with self-awareness and orientation. There are 7 competency “clusters”, containing 36 total competencies.
Source: (OECD, 2023[16])
Leveraging workforce data for strategic HR planning and decision-making can make a significant difference in long-term development
Ukraine has made notable progress in strengthening the collection and use of workforce data to inform human resource management across its public administration. In recent years, with the impetus of EU alignment, the NAUCS has taken starting steps to standardise reporting from institutions and gather workforce information through annual submissions from ministries and agencies. The Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union has been additionally influential in progress in this regard, as outlined in Box 5.12.
Available data now includes figures on staffing levels, vacancies, turnover, and composition, which are increasingly used to monitor public service workforce trends, issues and successes. Additionally, large-scale surveys (e.g., the needs analysis mentioned in the previous section, which sends forms to solicit information on skills gaps from ministries/managers) have been conducted to better understand staff development gaps and strategic workforce pressures. Such efforts signal an emerging recognition of the value of data-informed decision-making in shaping Ukraine’s public service capacity.
The use and overall understanding of data in long-term strategic planning remains somewhat limited and can be viewed as in its starting stages in the long-term picture. Data collection is sometimes decentralised, with ministries and agencies managing their own HR information systems to varying degrees of rigour, sophistication and coherency. NAUCS is leading coordination efforts towards having an HR information system covering the whole of the civil service, and there is an increasing recognition at top levels of the need for this and a growing buy-in for these efforts.
This can be evidenced to some extent through recent development of an electronic Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), which is expanding across entities in the Ukraine public service. This is a key element of Ukraine’s civil service modernisation and a priority within the wider public administration reform agenda and with development partners.19 Developed by NAUCS, the system provides a centralised electronic platform for the digitalisation and management of personnel data, HR processes and payroll across government authorities. It is intended to enable remote handling of civil service entry, progression, termination, and payroll, while also supporting greater transparency and inter-agency information exchange. As of 22 August, 2025, a total of 1 069 state bodies have been connected to HRMIS, and 50 876 employee records have been entered into the system.
This uptake reflects a growing recognition of the system’s functionality and efficiency, particularly as digital tools become more accepted within the public service. However, recent draft amendments for the law on the civil service fail to introduce mandatory HRMIS, which is an important weakness of the current situation given than HRMIS would not only provide centralised information in real time to decision-makers but would also make several of the HR or reporting procedures digital and automatic. Lack of mandatory integration of the Unified Portal and HRMIS is not envisaged, implying that several opportunities for streamlining processes could be missed.
Across the administration generally, inconsistencies persist in how data are gathered, reported, and interpreted. While some agencies are further ahead on data use there is limited capacity within many institutions to conduct in-depth analysis of the workforce or use data to actively inform HR policy and reform. Sometimes, even when data are collected – for example, on training participation or competency gaps – they are not always systematically analysed or translated into adjustments in strategy or resource allocation.
However, it is important to note the very substantial progress that Ukraine has made on this front in a quite short amount of time. While there is work to be done, the strides made from a baseline of a few years ago (OECD, 2018[17]) should be recognised, and required a concerted effort, skill sourcing and development, and leadership support. The continuation of this good work is essential. Building an even more coherent and strategic workforce data system will be essential to support Ukraine’s reform and recovery needs. This includes establishing a more robust and unified data infrastructure under the leadership of NAUCS, potentially in collaboration with the Ministry for the Digital Transformation, and ensuring efforts are properly resourced with highly knowledgeable people. Such a system would allow for more consistent tracking of key indicators, such as performance, skills gaps and learning effectiveness, and could enable real-time insights into workforce pressures across institutions and regions. Importantly, it would also support more effective and strategic HR planning, enabling decision makers to anticipate needs, evaluate the impact of reforms, and adjust workforce strategies as needed.
Ukraine is making steady strides in strengthening its public administration in line with European standards, despite the difficult conditions posed by war and persistent resource constraints. At the centre of these efforts is the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union, which plays a pivotal role in assessing and improving the capacity of government institutions involved in the country’s EU integration. Over the past several years, the Center has advanced its use of data, introducing systematic approaches to gather evidence on staffing, skills, and institutional capacity needs across the public sector, focusing on state bodies pertinent to European integration.
This growing focus on evidence has enabled the Center to identify where capacity is lacking and where development efforts should be targeted, including through tools and initiatives such as the annual “Analysis of the Needs” and large-scale surveys, the Center has begun to contribute to the mapping of capacity gaps by sharing the received data with the Cabinet of Ministers. This work can inform policy changes on professional training, strategic staffing, and organisational development. While challenges remain – particularly in retaining skilled staff and ensuring adequate financial and institutional support – the Center’s data-led approach is helping direct limited resources towards priority areas.
Although systemic issues resulting in staff turnover continue to affect the civil service, the Center’s work is helping to bring these challenges into focus and create a foundation for more targeted and lasting capacity-building initiatives. As Ukraine moves closer to EU membership, the Center’s role in promoting more structured and evidence-informed reform processes is likely to become even more significant.
Ukraine has been making significant strides in the reform and development of its public service in recent years. This has continued to the extent possible even during Russia’s invasion and the ongoing war. The resilience of Ukraine’s public service workforce remains remarkably high, with a demonstrated dedication to continuing reforms and aligning workforce capability and related HR practices with EU and international standards.
To achieve this, and to develop the capacity of the public service workforce over the long term, Ukraine can take forward the below recommendations. These actionable steps follow the analysis outlined in this chapter and focus on the development of needed skills and competencies which are being called upon to support the country in both recovery and long-term sustained success and growth.
Immediate priorities under current conditions in the short term
Chapter topic area 1: Strengthen learning and development systems
Continue to institutionalise a coordinated and coherent L&D system
Ukraine can continue working towards a mapping and strategy that encompasses and coordinates all learning, instils systems leadership to NAUCS, to make the best use of all available learning and development efforts, and to ensure there is a coherent overall system. This can still allow for the involvement and inclusion of learning run by other actors, such as ministries, regional centres and some private providers.
A comprehensive and frequently updated mapping of all learning offerings and their uptake is essential. The overall curriculum framework should evolve to take into account the skills need analysis discussed in the chapter and in a medium-term recommendation below, with topics and availability aligning with needs. Monitoring of learning participation and availability across workforce demographics can also ensure that barriers to development are noticed and addressed. This can help rectify factors that may be preventing the development and promotion of the most talented and motivated staff.
Continue expanding digital learning solutions and access
Ukraine’s learning efforts could benefit from expanding continuing efforts towards a dedicated and custom-tailored online learning platform that is broadly encompassing for the entire civil service and the majority of its learning needs. This can evolve and take advantage of the best of both Studyia and Diia.Education (for example, the Diia.Education “Byte Learning” format can offer microcontent and gives Ukraine the opportunity to significantly expand its digital learning catalogue).
More digital content can be offered, expanding the learning catalogue, and taking greater advantage of the reach and availability of learning through digital training. Ukraine can do this by bringing existing content under one umbrella to a greater extent, digitising the content of more training and topics (even those also offered in-person), increasing webinars and video content, or developing training in the form on “microcontent” such as short tutorial or video. More, and enhanced, digital content can allow for even greater reach to staff across the public service, in all geographic locations, greatly supporting overall workforce development while also requiring lower long-term resource use.
Chapter topic area 2: Identify and focus on the most-needed skills
Prioritise the most needed skills for the greatest impact in training
Ukraine can prioritise – in quantity and quality – the learning resources that target the most needed skills for development. This can mean offering more courses to provide a greater breadth of access to more employees across the public service or increasing the depth and quality of offerings in the most important areas.
Notably, the priority skills for development may – and should – change over time, due to both shifting needs but also on successful development initiatives. Therefore, it is important to make the best use, eventually, of the skills analysis discussed below and adapt priority areas as warranted.
Chapter topic area 3: Establish and administer processes and procedures that reinforce workforce development
Create and utilise competency frameworks
The use of competency frameworks – either for the overall public service or for specific roles or levels – is not yet mainstreamed in Ukraine but work can begin on this in the immediate term. This work can often be led by NAUCS, especially for competencies most applicable across the public service and levels of employees, regardless of ministry or organisational area. However, for some jobs and roles, it is warranted that specific ministries develop their own frameworks tailored to positions and growth plans. These frameworks are often especially useful at leadership and decision-making levels, and can signal and develop behaviours, attitudes and values that make managers most effective.
Such frameworks can then, in time, be used in other start-to-finish HR processes, such as job descriptions, recruitment, learning and development offerings, performance evaluation and promotion decisions.
Recovery priorities for the medium term
Chapter topic area 1: Strengthen learning and development systems
Expand the breadth of strategised learning methods to include more informal learning and mobility initiatives
When establishing learning strategies and coordinated systems, Ukraine can include more forms and methods of informal learning. These types of learning can be expanded (beyond “self-education”), recognised in learning plans, and be included officially in learning strategies. Examples include designing multi-disciplinary teams, assigning temporary leadership roles for certain projects, arranging formalised chances to share and discuss “failures”, and mentoring programmes.
Ukraine can use mobility as a learning tool to a much greater extent. This can be done across ministries and types of roles but also to and from regional levels. A mobility plan and structure can be established which clearly lays out terms, and addresses incentives and disincentives (among staff and managers), that can help or hinder the initiative. Some mobility can be more short-term in nature to address more urgent skills gaps, however a more fully developed institutionalise plan for mobility can be developed over the medium and long term to be integrated fully into learning strategies.
Chapter topic area 2: Identify and focus on the most-needed skills
Expand a systematic framework for skills needs analysis
NAUCS can lead the establishment and implementation of a multisource and recurring skills needs analysis that provides a comprehensive view of the skills needs, both short term and long term, of the Ukrainian public service. The current Analysis of Needs can be made more comprehensive and detailed, including more sources such as staff input, more levels of management, information from training measurement and monitoring, ongoing trends in skills needs and inputs from other organisations (e.g., the EU), and any future potential skills assessments.
The system can be digitised, with access and interaction online, and include analytical software to manage aggregation and help in analysis of skills data and feedback.
The information from this analysis can then be integrated into a breadth of HR processes, such as curriculum design and mapping, or performance evaluation or assessment. In turn, this integration with other systems can create feedback loops.
Chapter topic area 3: Establish and administer processes and procedures that reinforce workforce development
Implement and utilise more substantive performance evaluations
Ukraine is recommended to develop and strengthen its use of performance evaluations across the public service workforce. Along with the return of merit-based hiring at recruitment, substantive evaluation records will support and enable the promotion and growth of the best employees and can increase motivation and performance across a workforce.
Performance evaluation systems and processes can be made coherent and comprehensive across the workforce, led and managed by NAUCS, with appropriate transparency and accountability measures in place.
This recommendation also requires that managers themselves are enabled to and accountable for carrying out fair and substantial evaluations of their own staff. Therefore, systems surrounding this must also be addressed – notably to ensure fairness and accountability in the process and ensuring that managers are properly trained with the skills needed to conduct performance conversations, record outcomes, and understand the needs and reasons behind doing so.
Reforms for the longer term
Chapter topic area 1: Strengthen learning and development systems
Establish learning plans and pathways for all workers in the public service
Ukraine can continue to establish and reinforce detailed learning plans for all workers over a long term, to ensure that there is accountability for and data regarding ongoing skills needs, pipeline development, and HR processes.
Job families and established classifications can inform learning offerings and the overall training catalogue. Creating such job classifications – or adapting existing ones for the purposes of development and skills analysis – can be done in addition to their use for salaries and compensation (as is the case currently via the most recent reform). Job profiles and classifications allow for the professionalisation of public service roles and more in-depth thinking about the skills required in each, and can streamline the planning of future training.
Chapter topic area 2: Identify and focus on the most-needed skills
Begin longer-term work towards system-wide skills assessment
Accurate skills assessments of individuals in a workforce can have a compelling impact on workforce planning and development strategies. As a longer-term goal, Ukraine can begin the work of an eventual implementation of skills assessment. In time, these assessments can be used in performance evaluations, feedback cycles, recruitment and learning design.
Streamline learning for foundational skills across the workforce
Certain foundational skills can be set and prioritised over a longer term, subject to monitoring. These are skills that will be needed by all, or nearly all, types of public servants and are essential at entry or the early career stage. The related development paths and curriculums for these can be streamlined, with learning offerings scaled up and standardised to some degree, to increase both reach and economies of scale over a longer term.
Chapter topic area 3: Establish and administer processes and procedures that reinforce workforce development
Link learning to career progression and performance evaluations
Ukraine’s public service workforce planning strategy can work to more strongly and formally link learning efforts and skill development to HR processes. Learning can be formally considered in hiring and promotion decisions – especially when merit-based processes for these are reinstated. Performance evaluations and objectives can also continue to take the adherence to learning plans, or learning and skill development outside of formal plans, into account through inclusion of this criteria in a specific section and with appropriate weighting.
Maintain stable support for a long-term L&D strategy
A precondition for the success of workforce development is the long-term and stable support for its progression and implementation. Therefore, a key recommendation, on which the others rest, is for Ukraine to ensure ample and sustained support for its workforce development needs and goals. This is essential for the systems to work in conjunction and have a high impact over the long term.
Dedicated and stable support for development in Ukraine requires:
Sustained buy-in at the leadership level and a subsequent engrained belief by decision-makers in the necessity of workforce development and the substance and strategies behind associated plans.
Adequate human resources dedicated to workforce development, including for learning, skills analysis and HR processes. This refers not only to overall staffing and capability levels, but also to the executives who are directing, leading, supporting and overseeing these areas.
Sufficient financial resources to support the needed actions, strategies and infrastructure.
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[2] OECD/SIGMA (2023), The Principles of Public Administration, OECD, https://www.sigmaweb.org/publications/Principles-of-Public-Administration-2023.pdf.
[5] The Agency for Legislative Initiatives (2024), The Role of Civil Servants’ Remuneration Reform in the Public Administration Reform, https://parlament.org.ua/en/analytics/the-place-of-civil-servants-remuneration-reform-in-the-public-administration-reform/ (accessed on 24 March 2025).
← 1. In accordance with the Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of July 30, 2025, No. 915, and August 8, 2025, No. 953, the institution of the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was abolished, and the functions of political coordination were transferred directly to the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
← 2. By the end of June 2025, the number of civil servants serving in the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in voluntary formations of territorial communities (mobilised) was 4 505 persons. The number of civil servants located in the temporarily occupied territories or within areas of military (combat) operations was 5 269 persons.
← 3. The full text of the PSLC Recommendation is available at https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0445
← 4. Available in Ukrainian at https://www.sigmaweb.org/publications/Principles-of-Public-Administration-2023-edition-UKR.pdf
← 5. Available in Ukrainian at https://www.oecd.org/uk/publications/b0dd70ef-uk.html
← 6. Ukraine’s public service and human resource management were specifically and extensively assessed under the following Principles. 1: The scope of public service is adequate, clearly defined and applied in practice. 2: The policy and legal frameworks for a professional and coherent public service are established and applied in practice; the institutional set up enables consistent and effective human resource management practices across the public service. 3: The recruitment of public servants is based on merit and equal treatment in all its phases; the criteria for demotion and termination of public servants are explicit. 4: Direct or indirect political influence on senior managerial positions in the public service is prevented. 5: The remuneration system of public servants is based on job classifications; it is fair and transparent. 6: The professional development of public servants is ensured; this includes regular training, fair performance appraisal, and mobility and promotion based on objective and transparent criteria and merit. 7: Measures for promoting integrity, preventing corruption and ensuring discipline in the public service are in place.
← 7. Please note, the order and numbering of these SIGMA Principles in subsequent publications is subject to change. For future referencing, please refer to the associated text.
← 8. By the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020",” the effect of the Law of Ukraine “On Civil Service” was suspended with regard to conducting competitive selections for civil service positions and appointing to civil service positions based on the results of such competitions. In implementation of this Law, the Government adopted the Resolution “Certain Issues of Appointment to Civil Service Positions for the Period of Quarantine Introduced to Prevent the Spread of Acute Respiratory Disease COVID-19 Caused by the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the Territory of Ukraine.”
← 9. Law No. 389-VIII on the Legal Regime of Martial Law of 12 May 2015, with later amendments, Article 10, paragraph 5.
← 10. A strategy and an Action Plan for the Development of the System of Professional Training of Civil Servants, Heads of Local State Administrations, Their First Deputies and Deputies, Local Self-Government Officials and Local Council Members until 2027 were approved by the Coordination Council on Professional Training of Civil Servants, Heads of Local State Administrations, Their First Deputies and Deputies, Local Self-Government Officials and Local Council Members under the NAUCS at its meeting on August 22, 2023 and December 27, 2023, respectively.
← 11. According to paragraph 1, subparagraph 4 of the Procedure for Conducting a Competition for Civil Service Positions, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of March 25, 2016 No. 246 (as amended by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of August 18, 2017 No. 648)
← 12. Taking into account the requirements for the content and structure of the programmes approved by the order of the NAUCS as of November, 02 2022 No. 107-22, registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on November 18, 2022 under No. 1434/38770
← 13. The Coordination Council on Professional Training of Civil Servants, Heads of Local State Administrations, Their First Deputies and Deputies, Local Self-Government Officials, and Local Council Deputies.
← 14. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 106 as of February 6, 2019; order of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service as of December 12, 2019 No. 226-19, registered by the Ministry of Justice on December 26, 2019 under No. 1288/34259.
← 15. According to Resolution No. 640 as of August 23, 2017, the assessment of task performance results is conducted between October and December. At the same time, Resolution No. 106 as of February 06, 2019, establishes the requirement to earn one ECTS credit within a calendar year, including through self-education. Therefore, starting from October, a civil servant continues implementing the individual development program until the end of December
← 16. Rankings available at: https://desapublications.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2024-09/Technical%20Appendix%20%28Web%20version%29%201292024.pdf
← 17. More at: https://osvita.diia.gov.ua/en/korysni-posylannya?category=online-safety
← 18. A further draft law has been introduced that modifies the regulations for dismissal to only happen after two negative ratings. This may be problematic if it can be used to further allow or reward poor performance, or disallow the use of performance evaluations to dismiss staff or incentive their development.
← 19. The development and implementation of HRMIS is supported by the EU and World Bank grants: Grant No. TF0A5324 under the “Strengthening Public Resource Management” project, funded by the EU within the framework of the Public Administration and Public Finance Reform Program (EURoPAF), and Grant No. TF0B6630 under the “Public Finance Management Support Programme for Ukraine,” funded by the EU under the EU4PFM initiative.