17.09.2026
Employees of energy companies, regardless of their particular area of specialisation, need to understand not only technical processes but also the principles governing the electricity market. At the same time, the education of young professionals should place much greater emphasis on practical training delivered directly at energy companies.
Bohdan Sukhetskyi, CEO of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo, made these remarks during the online meeting “Business and Universities: How to Prepare Professionals for Ukraine’s Energy Sector Together”, held by Energy Club on 14 September as part of the Energy Freedom talk show.
Sukhetskyi said that he has worked in the electricity market since 2019 and has participated in developing and improving some of its rules and procedures. During this period, Ukraine’s energy market has undergone continuous change. Professional development for employees of commercial departments therefore cannot be limited to a single training course.
“The professional level of employees working in commercial operations must be improved continuously – every month, every week and every day. This is a highly dynamic market in which legislation, regulatory decisions and operating conditions are constantly changing,” the head of Ukrhydroenergo emphasised.
When a new employee joins the company, the initial training focuses on individual market segments, including the day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets. Understanding the trading rules, however, is only the beginning of their professional preparation.
Employees must also understand how dispatchers operate, how equipment works, how different operating modes affect electricity production and how water reserves at hydropower plants are managed. Only then can they see the relationship between the company’s technical capabilities, its participation in the market and its financial performance.
“A person must understand the complete cycle from beginning to end. It is not enough to know one particular market segment – they need to see how the entire company operates,” Sukhetskyi explained.
According to him, Ukrhydroenergo already has an internal educational programme that teaches the fundamentals of market operation not only to employees of commercial departments. Engineers, dispatchers, financial professionals and other specialists also need this knowledge.
This approach reflects the direct relationship between production, commercial operations and financial processes within an energy company. Decisions concerning equipment operating modes and available resources affect electricity sales, balancing, financial settlements and the fulfilment of public service obligations.
“Everyone in the company should understand how this works. It is a single interconnected process, and everyone needs to be involved in it,” he stressed.
Sukhetskyi therefore believes that graduates in energy and electrical engineering should leave university with more than technical knowledge. They also need a basic understanding of the economics of an energy company, the structure of the electricity market and the connection between technical decisions and commercial results.
The CEO of Ukrhydroenergo paid particular attention to preparing young professionals for work under wartime conditions. Energy specialists now face circumstances and decisions every day that are not covered by traditional university programmes.
“We need practice, practice and more practice. The system used to train young professionals must be changed fundamentally,” Sukhetskyi said.
One possible solution, he suggested, would be to establish training facilities directly at energy companies. This would allow students and young professionals to observe actual equipment operation, see the consequences of technical and managerial decisions, and gain a better understanding of the realities of critical infrastructure.
As an example of the gap between traditional education and wartime practice, Sukhetskyi referred to anti-drone nets used to protect energy equipment. From the perspective of conventional technical training, such a measure may appear inconsistent with standard operating requirements. In wartime conditions, however, it can protect expensive equipment from an FPV drone strike and prevent far more serious consequences for the energy system.
“To a specialist trained exclusively from textbooks, this may look like a violation of technical standards. In reality, it protects equipment worth millions and prevents consequences that could cost billions,” he explained.
Sukhetskyi identified the shortage of young people choosing hydropower and other specialised energy disciplines as another major challenge. Companies are seeing their workforces age, while the number of young professionals entering the sector remains insufficient.
According to him, it is sometimes easier for a company to send an experienced employee abroad for specialised training than to find and prepare a new specialist in Ukraine. Energy companies, universities and professional associations therefore need to work together to promote careers in energy and offer young people a clear professional pathway.
“We can see that not enough young people are joining the company, while the average age of our employees is gradually increasing. Changing this situation is not a task for one, two or even three years. It is a challenge that will require at least five years of sustained work,” Sukhetskyi noted.
He expressed support for Energy Club’s initiative to establish a joint practical training programme. In his view, such a platform could complement existing courses, provide young people with a broader understanding of the energy sector and demonstrate the complete operating cycle of an energy company.
“The more organisations we have that engage young people and help them understand the entire process from beginning to end, the more effectively this will work for the energy sector as a whole,” Bohdan Sukhetskyi concluded.
