Professional Training of Youth Workers as a Tool for Shaping and Implementing Youth Policy in Ukraine

In the article the specific features of professional training for youth workers in Ukraine is examined. Іt is noted that professional training for youth workers is one of the key tools for shaping and implementing youth policy in Ukraine. It helps build the workforce needed to engage effectively with young people, represent their interests, and create conditions for their active participation in public life. Youth workers’ professional competence, their ability to apply contemporary non-formal education methods, organize youth initiatives, promote social integration, and support civic engagement directly affect the quality of youth policy implementation at the national, regional, and local levels. Іt is emphasized that in the current context, caused by the full-scale war, socio-economic transformations, and European integration processes, it is particularly important to establish a professional training system for youth workers based on a competency-based approach, lifelong learning, practical application, and responsiveness to young people’s actual needs. Key priorities for improving this system have been identified: developing digital competencies, strengthening the psychological and social dimensions of training, expanding inclusive practices, and fostering effective cooperation among government authorities, local self-government bodies, educational institutions, civil society organizations, and youth centres. These areas offer promising avenues for further theoretical and applied research aimed at achieving the broader social objective of youth policy as a social determinant of public policy formulation and implementation in Ukraine: promoting the comprehensive development and self-realization of young people across different spheres of public life; unlocking their potential; protecting their interests and rights; supporting their social development and integration; facilitating career guidance; organizing meaningful leisure activities; and supporting talented and gifted young people.