Drone operator course to be introduced in 7 vocational schools
2 March 2024 05:17
In 2024, vocational schools in Ukraine will offer training to become a civilian drone operator. This was announced by the Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Kommersant Ukrainian reports 
This year, 7 vocational schools in Lviv, Dnipro, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions will offer training to become a civilian drone operator.
“Thanks to the support of the European Union, we have purchased drones for practical training and trained teachers who will now be able to teach students under this programme. We plan to further expand the network of vocational schools and approve an educational standard that will allow us to better prepare students for this profession,”
– said the Minister.
He noted that mastery of civilian drone management skills is becoming an important aspect for Ukraine. These unmanned aerial vehicles are used in various industries, such as agriculture (for sowing), rescue operations, demining, war damage assessment, and journalists use them to document events during military conflicts.
Fedorov said that the process of reforming vocational education is ongoing, and more than 200 educational institutions have applied to upgrade their workshops and create favourable conditions for training specialists.
One million drones and army modernisation
The decision to maximise state support for drone production was made in March 2023, when the government approved a resolution. Since then, the Ministry of Digital Transformation has been actively working to expand production, provide maximum support to drone manufacturers, and remove bureaucratic obstacles to the creation of UAVs. Recently, Minister Fedorov launched the People’s Drone initiative, under which every citizen can assemble a drone at home at their own expense.
In late 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence that Ukraine would produce one million drones for the frontline by 2024, referring to FPV drones. Minister Fedorov responded with assurances that this target would even be exceeded.
In his last article in the Western press on the eve of his dismissal from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi emphasised the need for a technological breakthrough in the army, with a particular focus on unmanned technologies. The Commander-in-Chief claimed that it would take only 5 months to reorient the army to unmanned systems.
After his dismissal, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to work on the creation of a separate type of troops in the Armed Forces – the Unmanned Systems Forces.
