24.06.2025
Protection and safe operation of critical infrastructure facilities in the face of military aggression and the threat of terrorist attacks is an issue that will remain relevant for Ukraine for a long time to come. Therefore, one of the main challenges for the state is the training of professional personnel for the design, construction, protection and safe operation of critical infrastructure facilities. This became a topic for discussion at the professional online meeting on June 24, 2025 on the Energy Club platform with the participation of the leadership of the KNUBA and the partner – the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine. Experts in the fields of architecture, engineering, defense, ecology, and public administration highlighted the main aspects of the future development of energy sustainability of communities.
The key audience of the meeting was the territorial communities, whose representatives participated in the event. They were informed about the availability of professional training opportunities, in particular at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture.
Opening the discussion, Energy Club Vice President Valeriy Bezus noted that the challenges of protecting critical infrastructure, the lens of energy, utilities, and transport, are strategic and require a systematic approach, and above all, the training of professional specialized personnel.
Vitaly Plosky – Head of the Department of Architectural Structures of the KNUBA, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, said that with the beginning of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, the KNUBA took on the task of training special personnel within the framework of construction and architectural specialties and special and defense construction. For this purpose, at the initiative of the Center for Defense Programs, the first department of special-purpose structures in Ukraine was opened, and KNUBA is already training masters in the specialty of construction and operation of special-purpose and defense facilities (this includes not only fortifications, but also civil defense facilities, military-industrial complex facilities, etc.). The program is available on the university’s website.
“A year ago, on the instructions of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Institute for Strategic Studies launched a project to train specialists in critical infrastructure protection in order to expand the competencies of employees of state authorities and local governments. The concept of the Institute was to expand educational programs for training engineers in technical safety and operation, cybersecurity, information security, military security measures, and civil defense universities. The concept is viable and is already working,” said Vitaliy Plosky. – KNUBA proposed creating a comprehensive program for training specialists in a separate specialization in the architectural and construction direction, which is key. The Department of Special Purpose Structures is launching a master’s program “Design, Construction, Protection and Safe Operation of Critical Infrastructure Facilities” this year, which aims to train top-level specialists from the entire life cycle of the facility. And in the classifier of professions in security group 2490, the positions of head of the critical infrastructure facility protection service, CI protection expert, risk assessment analyst, and protection and resilience specialist have already appeared. That is, a new labor market is being formed, and KNUBA is taking care that it is replenished with qualified specialists.
The content of the educational and professional master’s program was introduced to the participants of the meeting by the head of the Department of Special Purpose Structures, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Volodymyr Skochko. He highlighted the main components of the program, focusing on its specifics. The program “Design, Construction, Protection and Safe Operation of Critical Infrastructure Facilities” contains 11 mandatory components that cover the stages of work with critical infrastructure elements from design to operation. Field of knowledge – engineering, production and construction, specialty – construction and civil engineering. Duration of study – 1.5 years. The goal of the program is to train highly qualified specialists capable of designing, building, operating, protecting and reconstructing critical infrastructure facilities using modern technologies, materials and risk management in conditions of multi-vector threats. The features of the program are the integration of theoretical and practical training, the use of modern digital technologies (BIM, CAD, modeling), the formation of an individual learning trajectory, interdisciplinary training taking into account security, energy, ecology and protection, the involvement of specialists from defense, state and municipal structures. Special emphasis is placed on preparation for work in international projects, interdisciplinary teams and government structures involving international partners – given the large number of donors that assist Ukraine with environmental protection.
critical infrastructure facilities.
Denys Mykhaylovsky – Senior Officer of the Central Department of Innovation Activities of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted: “Protection of critical infrastructure facilities is an extremely important task. We should hope for a set of measures, and not only for air defense. Features of engineering protection of critical elements of OKI at different levels, requirements for engineering protection systems are implemented in accordance with the concept of “Fortress Country”, approved at the state level”.
President of the NGO “Living Planet” Svitlana Berzina focused on the need to take into account resource efficiency, sustainability and environmental friendliness when designing a protective structure. Currently, the working group is working on the development of the DSTU 9171 standard, which is to be adopted in September, the first discussion has already taken place. Another document that designers should use as a strategic element is the standard for planning the service life and assessing the cost and life cycle.
Oleksiy Kotlyarevsky – Candidate of Economic Sciences, Advisor to the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine emphasized the importance of the work begun on training personnel: “Finally, this work has begun, and in some time we will be able to obtain influential results. The country lacks a system that determines the criteria for criticality, there is a lack of specialists who can be part of expert groups. It takes 2-3 years to form it. We need specialists who will create this system and work in it at all levels – from CI enterprises to the national level. And only then will the significance rating and distribution of funds be compiled.”
Summing up the meeting, moderator Valeriy Bezus, Vice President of Energy Club, emphasized that the main objective of the event was to present new opportunities for training personnel for the design, construction, protection and safe operation of critical infrastructure facilities in communities. The next steps are to identify and formulate recommendations for ensuring the resilience of critical community infrastructure with human resources, as well as creating a space for dialogue where local governments can discuss their expectations, challenges, and necessary support.
