Retraining an adult is not an easy thing, but it can be quite a feasible mission. In this material there are free IT courses for the military and other programs that will allow a veteran to get an IT profession.
We have already addressed the topic of free education for Ukrainians during the war , but time does not stand still. Here is some information on career guidance for military personnel interested in IT careers.
After the research, the results of which will be below, you can formulate several recommendations for independent search. Here they are:
-
it is worth monitoring free training for the military and internships more than once, preferably once every few days for some time: a lot of good courses are one-time, and it is important to get into the set. While searching for options for this article, we saw sets for training in Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Dnipro, which ended just a few days before it was published. So you can catch an opportunity if you catch;
-
it is not the most dynamic industry, but something is ending its existence, something is starting, so you should always check the current situation;
-
carefully read the conditions of the course, whether it is completely free for the military, whether there is only a discount or several scholarships for veterans;
-
at the beginning of the search, it is worth contacting veteran associations, for example, Veterano Hub, as they often have fresh information, or there may be career counselors who also monitor similar offers;
-
opportunities for self-education intended for a wide range of readers - blogs, open lectures - should not be rejected. Bloggers will also come in handy for a start — for example, here are the top 10 Ukrainian YouTube channels about IT. Such blogs can teach basic skills and help with non-obvious questions that are not in the course syllabus. For example, you learned how to make websites on courses and would like to work as a freelancer. But you don't know how to buy hosting , register a domain and bring the site to the Internet - YouTube will help you figure it out.
Well, now to the latest.
Training for Ukrainian military from companies
Searching among large companies, despite the large selections of "free training for the military" already available on the network, turned out to be not so simple. It happens that a company is included in a selection of free courses, but in fact one or two of its employees have become speakers of a free course from some large provider. Or it may be that the work with veterans is only in the plans or has already been completed. So, the main summary: sparse.
EPAM - free courses
According to dev.ua, this company, in collaboration with the Ministry of Veterans, is launching training courses on the basis of EPAM Univercity. But it is not yet clear from open sources where and how to get this training. The DOU states the following: EPAM Univercity's training programs will be adapted for training centers of the Ministry of Vet. So far, it has been possible to find only one such center in Dnipro, it has just opened. The Center for Veteran Development on the basis of the University of Customs and Finance (USF) will offer education in various areas, including in the field of technology.
Right now, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration invites you to free IT courses in the specialties "2D designer: Photoshop, Illustrator", "SEO specialist", "Frontend developer", "Python developer".
Obviously, the program is in the process of development, and it is worth keeping an eye on the news.
In the meantime, you can use the free Epam Univercity program , which involves independent study. These are the basics of informatics and computer engineering, which, according to the creators of the course, will allow you to make a start in software development in any direction.
The plus is that free programs provide for independent completion at your own pace, without grades and in a hurry. The downside is that independent sweaters often lack a live mentor and self-discipline.
Choice31
It is part of the Netpeak group of companies, offering courses in non-technical IT specialties such as business analytics, project management, SEO, design, as well as providing opportunities to learn business English. Choise31 services include career courses, job search consultations. Free access to all courses and the job search module is provided to military personnel with the relevant documents.
Such courses are good in that they are accompanied by an expert's consultation, so finding your first job will be easier. Also, looking at your work and being prepared for interviews is something that is always lacking in fully self-paced and online learning.
Free online courses from educational platforms
We will divide the existing IT courses from scratch from the simplest to the more complex. Some of them are intended specifically for combatants (free training for the military), and some are simply free IT courses for Ukrainians, which the military can also use.
Prometheus
On the famous educational platform Prometheus, the course "Getting to know IT: a test drive of professions" is running. Speakers from the largest companies in the country — Siclum, GlobalLogic, SoftServe, EPUM, etc. These are free classes that were held live in March, but all workshops are now available as a recording via chatbot.
If the task is to choose exactly what to do, and there is no confidence, then the course can be a good first step.
Among the free Prometheus courses, there are many that can help the future IT person - working with GitHub, the basics of WEB UI development, developing an IT product from scratch, the basics of programming in Python, JavaScript, creating sites in HTML and CSS, etc. You just need to select the appropriate tab and scroll through it.
For active military personnel, a course on drone tactics is being run jointly with the Come Back Alive Foundation, which will allow you to improve your skills.
Important: some courses require knowledge of English because they contain videos in that language. However, it will still be needed for successful work, and it will have to be improved. Free English for Veterans does exist and is worth seeking out.
Lifeline Ukraine
The Dutch charitable foundation Lifeline Ukraine, together with the Kyiv Center for Assistance to ATO participants, launched the first training group in the "Software Tester" specialty within the framework of the "Time of New Achievements" v.2.0 project, and probably recruited the second. At least the link for registration on their page in social networks no longer works. However, it is worth subscribing to the news, because there may be a third set.
ITDVN
Training courses from the ITDVN resource, a large educational resource for Ukrainian programmers, are free for all Ukrainians. Terms of use:
-
preliminary registration;
-
access to the materials of 230 courses is provided for 30 days, and during this time you must choose and master something;
-
you can take the test and get certificates from 10 courses also for free.
Webinars, the opportunity to communicate on forums and so on are added to the courses. Everything depends only on perseverance and the ability and ability to postpone everything for a month. But there are popular programming languages, digital security, testing...
There is also a separate support program at ITVDN, which provides an opportunity for military personnel, firefighters, and territorial defense fighters who are citizens of Ukraine to obtain new education. Participants gradually gain access to IT courses in a specific specialty, and it is possible to master several directions simultaneously.
ITVDN offers a wide selection of 20 different IT specialties, including:
-
Python Developer
-
FrontEnd Developer
-
Website Layout Designer
-
Java Developer
-
React and Angular Developer
-
C#/.NET Developer
-
Unity Game Developer
-
Development for Android and iOS, and others.
The offer is of an indefinite nature. To gain access to training, it is necessary to provide documents confirming the corresponding status. You can submit an application by contacting the ITVDN support service.
Mate academy
Mate Academy IT courses are free for all ex-servicemen from 2014 to Victory. This is intensive training every day in a number of IT specialties: Front End/Full Stack, Java, Python, QA, UI/UX Design . In addition, there is English for the military.
This is probably the most difficult, but also an attractive option - it involves pre-selection, an interview, and meticulous training of those who passed it, followed by employment. Here you need to be ready to devote several months to training, and exclusively to it.
Where to monitor training information
The good news is that there are likely to be more courses like this. Among the news about training, you can see that large IT companies are working towards better employment of veterans. This can be seen at least from several memorandums of cooperation that companies have recently signed with Veterano hub. It is about improving interaction with veterans, work on adaptation of specialists returning from the war, training.
Bad news: there are not many courses at the moment, and most of them need to be monitored, "catching" an opportunity. Here are some resources to keep an eye on for training news and to generally keep an eye on your future career:
-
dou.ua;
-
ain.ua;
-
dev.ua;
Then there is a chance to be in time for the next set, which starts, perhaps already tomorrow.
Like the article? Tell your friends about it: 
