On 10 April, a Рublic Рresentation "English-speaking skills of public servants: "Eng4PublicService2.0". The event was organised by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service as the initiator and founder of the project for learning English by public servants "Eng4PublicService".  

During the presentation, the Head of the NAUCS, Nataliia Aliushyna, presented the results of the first phase of the project "Eng4PublicService" and spoke about new training opportunities for civil servants and local government officials - "Eng4PublicService2.0". As part of the second phase of the project, the NAUCS launched a speaking club for public servants - SpeakingClub4PS.

"I am proud that our project has been chosen by more than 21,000 civil servants from 1,012 state and local authorities. We are forming a new culture of self-education for the public service based on the Lifelong Learning principle. We share innovations with colleagues from other government institutions. Today, we are summarising the results of the first phase of the project "Eng4PublicService" and awarding the best participants who have received the largest number of certificates of professional development based on the successful completion of training modules on the EF platform. We also present a new case study in English language learning - SpeakingClub4PS," said the Head of the NAUCS at the opening of the event.

According to Nataliia Aliushyna, there are currently 21,045 registered users on the EF online platform. Of these, 18,930 are civil servants and 2,115 are representatives of local self-government. In fact, every tenth civil servant learns English with the project "Eng4PublicService". Among them are representatives of all categories of positions: A - 78, B - 6,226, C - 12,626.

In the general ranking of the project's leading institutions by the number of registered users, the following are the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the State Tax Service of Ukraine, the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the State Audit Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and the State Treasury of Ukraine. These government institutions have the largest number of employees studying English as part of the project - from 100 to 350 people in each institution.

7,049 public servants received more than 14,920 certificates of professional development based on the results of the training modules. Each certificate is 1 ECTS credit. Most of the certificates were received by civil servants from the territorial offices of central executive bodies. In particular, from the offices of the State Audit Service and the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Odesa Oblast. And also from the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

A representative of the international educational organisation EF Language Learning Solutions, which is a partner of the NAUCS in the implementation of the project "Eng4PublicService", also made a welcoming speech. David Bish, Head of Academic Affairs at EF Language Learning Solutions Ltd, welcomed the participants and noted the significant interest of Ukrainian public servants in learning English and their high activity on the EF online platform. He spoke about the benefits of the EF online school, including round-the-clock access from various devices, the ability to use a mobile application, personalised learning, modules adapted to Ukrainian realities and professional requirements, etc.

The presentation was also attended by the Heads of the leading agencies in terms of the number of participants in the project "Eng4PublicService", in particular, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mykola Shevchuk, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine for European Integration Liudmyla Suhak, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Inna Yashchuk, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Liudmyla Darahan, Coordinator of the Group of Coordinators for Institutional Reforms at the Coordination Centre for Cooperation with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Office of the President of Ukraine, Oleksiy Holubov.

In addition, the Head of the NAUCS presented the results of a survey of participants in the project "Eng4PublicService", which was conducted by the NAUCS from 15 to 31 March 2024 to get feedback to improve the training programme. The online survey involved 2,644 civil servants from all regions of Ukraine. Respondents answered 10 questions about the language learning process and their wishes.

According to Nataliia Aliushyna, 61.8% of respondents received the A1 - Elementary level based on the results of the EF platform's entrance test to determine their current level of English. 19.2% of civil servants received the A2 - Pre-Intermediate level. 14% - B1 - Intermediate, 3.1% - B2 - Upper-Intermediate, 1.9% received C1 and C2 levels.

The majority of public servants (62.5%) study English 3-5 hours a week, and 5-7 hours a week (33.7%). 

Overall, respondents rated the project "Eng4PublicService" at 4.1 points on a 5-point scale. The criteria were the usability of the platform, the usefulness of the content, and the progress made. 

"We received a request from the project participants for the possibility of practical use of knowledge and improvement of speaking skills. That's why the National Agency, together with the Higher School of Public Governance, is launching the second phase of the project - Eng4PublicService2.0. Our new case is the format of SpeakingClub4PS. This is an opportunity for public servants to improve their oral communication skills, activate passive vocabulary and learn new vocabulary, improve pronunciation and listening comprehension of English," said Nataliia Aliushyna, the Head of the NAUCS.

The "pilot" SpeakingClub4PS has already been launched at the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service. About 60 civil servants of categories B and C with A2 - B1 levels have started training. The first group included civil servants with competence in European integration. They meet every Thursday and improve their skills in a conversation club under the guidance of a teacher. The training for each group will last for 2 months and will include 10 practical sessions in the formats of discussions, debates, presentations, and debates. 

"Communication with different partners in breakout rooms (one to one speaking), the use of board games with interactive tasks using conversation gambits, watching original films with following discussion, and live communication. All these components will help civil servants to speak fluent English. After finishing the pilot Speaking club, we will offer this format to our colleagues from other government institutions," said Nataliia Aliushyna.

At the end of the event, the best participants of the project "Eng4PublicService" were awarded, who received the maximum number of certificates - 16 or more - during their training on the EF platform.

They received commemorative awards and gifts: Halyna Franchuk - Chief Specialist of the Digital Transformation Department of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, Kateryna Vlasiuk - Chief Specialist of the Territorial Control Department of the Kyiv City State Administration, Svitlana Viblaia - Chief State Inspector of the Information Technology Department of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Maryna Tereshchenko - Chief Specialist of the Social Protection Department of the Sumy Region State (Military) Administration, and Tetiana Dovzhanyn - Chief State Inspector of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Zakarpattia oblast.

More information: The educational project "Eng4PublicService" is implemented by the NAUCS in cooperation with EF Language Learning Solutions, the world's largest educational organisation. Its goal is to strengthen the language capabilities of public servants and improve their English language proficiency. The project provides civil servants and local government officials with a free opportunity to use innovative English language learning tools on the EF (Education First) multimedia online platform. This modern platform for the training and professional development of public servants was presented at the Richelieu Public Service Forum in late 2022. To date, more than 20,000 public servants have already participated in the project. 14.2 thousand certificates of professional development have been received.