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Almost 900 Ukrainians have already received vouchers for IT education worth up to UAH 33,000 from the State Employment Service. How to do it and who is eligible

In 2023-2025, 883 Ukrainians received vouchers for training in IT specialties from the State Employment Service, which allowed some of them to restart their own careers in a new professional field and shine in IT. It is worth recognizing that IT is not one of the most popular areas of study among voucher recipients (in total, 67,000 vouchers have been issued for all professions since the beginning of martial law, so it is possible to compare these figures), but, nevertheless, it demonstrates stable demand. This is mainly about obtaining a second higher education in IT specialties in a number of universities.

How to get a voucher for studying in IT specialties and who can do it

First of all, it is worth outlining that the education voucher currently covers up to UAH 33,280, and it is not available to everyone, but only to certain categories of citizens — Ukrainians aged 45 or over; veterans; persons with disabilities; internally displaced persons; those discharged from military service, as well as Ukrainians who were in Russian captivity or were injured or maimed as a result of the war.

Each of the above groups contains a number of clarifications and restrictions — a detailed description can be found on the department’s website. But, one way or another, a significant number of citizens can potentially apply for such a voucher — even due to the large number of veterans and IDPs in our country. Therefore, it is not appropriate to talk about the narrow scope of this program.

As for IT specialties, you can use the voucher to obtain education in the areas of «software engineering», «information systems and technologies», «cybersecurity and information protection», «computer engineering», «computer science», «automation, computer-integrated technologies and robotics».

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of specialties, studying which can eventually lead you to IT and provide the appropriate theoretical basis for this, but we have nevertheless highlighted the main ones.

A preliminary application for a voucher can be submitted online directly on the website of the State Employment Service — there you need to enter your contact details and fill in basic information before a specialist contacts you.

Who most often applies for vouchers when it comes to IT professions?

According to data provided to dev.ua journalist Liliya Grabovska, 364 vouchers were issued for education in the above-listed IT specialties in 2023, 196 vouchers in 2024, and another 323 vouchers in 2025. The threshold amount is usually maximum in this category — about 30,000 UAH.

«In 2024, there was a general decline,» says Ms. Grabovska, analyzing the figures. «We now have no male professions and male positions, but still, I believe that in 2024 there were slightly fewer men who directly received voucher training.»

According to a representative of the State Employment Service, the voucher program provides for retraining or, to a greater extent, training in a different specialty. «There is also partial training at the next level, but to a greater extent this is training for those people who already have a higher education, a master’s degree, and, accordingly, receive a voucher to obtain a new specialty,» she commented.

As for the gender balance in receiving education vouchers, Liliya Grabovska noted that for an accurate answer it would be necessary to process a significant array of figures, but, judging by last year’s statistics, men make up about 30%, and most vouchers are still received by women. «If we take last year, we only have about 30% of men,» she says.

Among the categories of citizens who are currently eligible for education vouchers, people aged 45+ are the most active (or this category is simply objectively the largest in terms of numbers).

In particular, in 2025, 323 people went to obtain IT education using vouchers from the State Employment Service, as already indicated — 207 of them were people over 45 years old, 83 were IDPs, 17 were combatants, 14 were disabled, and one more person was in captivity or was injured or maimed as a result of combat operations.

In 2024, somewhat atypically, the majority of vouchers for training in the IT sector went to internally displaced persons — out of 196 total, 105 vouchers went to IDPs. Citizens aged 45+ received 61, another 17 vouchers went to UBD, and 13 to persons with disabilities.

In 2023, vouchers for training in IT fields were mainly received by people aged 45+ — there were 200 of them. Another 147 vouchers were received by IDPs, 11 by people with disabilities, and four more by combatants.

You can pay for your studies in installments. But if you drop out, you will have to pay back the money.

According to Liliya Grabovska, tuition vouchers are mainly relevant for higher education. It is impossible to pay for private IT courses at numerous commercial IT schools with such a voucher.

«First of all, these are higher education institutions, master’s programs with a study period of up to two years,» she says.

According to Grabovska, often the total cost of studying in such master’s programs is significantly higher than the 33,000 hryvnias that a voucher from the State Employment Service can provide.

When it comes to veterans, it is quite common for public organizations to cover the remaining part of the cost of training.

«We work with various public organizations and we cover the difference in tuition for combatants. For example, last year, we covered the full cost of tuition for combatants with an NGO, when it cost over 50,000. That is, 30,000 was paid for by a voucher, and the rest of the amount was paid by the NGO,» she explained.

If the cost of training exceeds the amount of the certificate provided by the Employment Service, you can pay the remaining amount from your own pocket. Especially if you are not a veteran, and the NGO will not undertake to finance the remaining amount. There may also be cases when the employer pays the remaining amount for the retraining of a specialist.

We also asked Lilia Grabovska whether there are cases when a person receives a voucher for training, but does not complete the training — how does the State Employment Service act in such a case?

«Over the past two years, not many people have left our studies due to non-fulfillment of the terms of the contract and without good reason. Because there are times when, for example, a person started studying under the voucher program, but was transferred to the budget, because higher education institutions can do this today within the framework of such studies. There are cases when a person who received a voucher was mobilized. This is also a good reason for not returning the funds,» she explains, but adds that in case of non-fulfillment of the terms of the contract, the State Employment Service reserves the right to return the funds issued, including through legal proceedings.

What other nuances need to be taken into account?

Among the important features of the program, which the representative of the State Employment Service draws attention to, is the extended period for the realization of the voucher itself.

«If it used to be 90 days, now it’s 120 days. But if a person hasn’t used the voucher within 120 days, it expires,» she explains. Based on how educational institutions are currently operating, Liliya Grabovska calls for first getting a voucher and only then signing a study contract.

As a representative of the State Employment Service says, the procedure provides for clear deadlines for making decisions at each stage. «An application with a full package of documents is considered for eight days. A decision is made, the person is informed, he must come and receive his voucher. But first the voucher, and then enrollment in an educational institution, and not vice versa,» she insists.

Liliya Grabovska added that the program works only with licensed educational institutions and accredited educational programs in higher education.

«We are conducting a survey of voucher recipients, and I can say that to a greater extent, people say that it helped them change their professional activities and increase their wages,» she summarized.