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Corresponding author:
1 Department of Railway Transport Management, State University of Infrastructure and Technology.
E-mail: zdvulit@ukr.net
2 Research Department, State University of Infrastructure and Technology.
E-mail: olevchenko76@gmail.com

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2017-3-5-125-134

ADVANCED VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF ENVIRONMENTAL
PROFESSIONALS FOR PROVIDING SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAYS OF UKRAINE ON THE WAY
TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Zoriana Dvulit1, Olha Levchenko2
State University of Infrastructure and Technology, Ukraine

Abstract. The subject of the research is to study the state of issue of advanced training of environmental professionals
and specialists on six railways of Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC: Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Pivdenna (Southern), Pivdenno-Zakhidna
(Southwestern) and Pridniprovska Railways. The purpose of the article is to study the issue of providing the necessary
qualification level of postgraduate education (advanced training) of environmental professionals and specialists at
six Ukrainian railways. The methodology of the research: In order to achieve the goal, the following methods are used
in the article: 1) statistical methods and methods of comparative analysis; 2) questionnaires and expert surveys
of environmental professionals and specialists; 3) taxonomic methods. The novelty of the research. The state of the
issue of ensuring the necessary level of professional development of environmental professionals and specialists at
six railways of Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC is investigated. Namely: 1. the state of the level of professional development of
environmental professionals and specialists of 6 railways of Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC for the period from 2012 to 2016 is
researched and evaluated; its structural and dynamic analysis is carried out; 2. calculations of taxonomic indicators
of the level of development of career development system for environmental professionals and specialists as
distribution of expenses for advanced training for 6 railways for 2012–2016 are made; 3. carried out a questionnaire
of environmental professionals and specialists, whose list of functional responsibilities, in accordance with the job
description (both staffed and part-time workers), includes issues of the use of natural resources and environmental
protection – in order to clarify the availability of environmental education, the length of work in the railway, the
length of work in positions associated with environmental activities, the level of satisfaction with the content of
their work. Conclusions. To ensure the sustainable development of Ukrainian railways on the way to European
integration, it is necessary to take into account the requirements and standards of the EU both in the reform of
rail transport in general and in the management of its impact on the natural environment. The training of modern
skilled personnel is an important part of the strategy of sustainable economic and ecological development of rail
transport; therefore, a special attention should be paid to the training of environmental professionals and specialists
working in positions related to the use of natural resources and environmental protection. The European direction of
the railways of Ukraine requires new approaches to the education and professional development of such specialists.
Summing up the results of the conducted researches, the authors of the article substantiated that both the structure
of the number of environmental professionals and specialists who have increased the qualification, as well as the
structure of costs for the advanced training of environmental professionals and specialists of six studied railways,
which are parts of Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC, for the period from 2012 to 2016 are very volatile. Thus, they concluded that,
during the period under review, such significant structural shifts do not comply with the principles and provisions
of the sustainable development of railway transport enterprises.

Key words: advanced vocational training, environmental professionals, natural environment, railway transport
enterprises, railways, advanced training costs.

JEL Classification: J44, L84, L92, F64, I21

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1. Introduction
The relevance of the research. The Strategy for

Development of PJSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (hereinafter –
Ukrzaliznytsia) for 2017–2021 determines
Ukrzaliznytsia’s mission as ensuring sustainable
development of Ukraine by providing high-quality and
affordable transport and logistics services based on the
principles of social and environmental responsibility,
as well as an effective model of company management
that will meet the challenges of the present, taking
into account the future needs of the economy and
the population (Key aspects of the Strategy for
Development of PJSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” for the 2017–
2021 years, 2017).

Ukrzaliznytsia provides 82% of freight and almost 50%
of passenger traffic carried by all modes of transport. In
terms of freight traffic, it ranks fourth in the Eurasian
continent, second only to the railways of China, Russia,
and India (Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC, 2018), and provides
work to 285 500 people (data as of 30.06.2017) (Statistical
data on Ukrainian railways, 2018). Railways – enterprises
of railway transport of general use, which ensure the
formation and implementation of state policy in the field
of transport (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2012a).

The Concept of Sustainable Development was
recognized by the UN World Conference on the
Environment as the dominant ideology of civilization
in the XXI century. The balance of ecological and
economic interests is a valuable and cultural component
of the model of sustainable development in countries of
the European Union (hereinafter – the EU). Therefore,
since European integration is the main foreign policy
priority of Ukraine, and the EU sets high environmental
standards, the sooner their implementation in Ukraine
will be the key to further European integration in the
field of environmental protection. This requires bringing
the parameters of the functioning of railways in line with
European environmental norms and standards.

In pursuance of the State Target Program for Rail
Transport Reform for 2010–2019, which set one of
the tasks of accelerating the integration of domestic rail
transport into European and world transport systems,
a number of measures are identified, in particular:
improvement of environmental safety system is
envisaged in order to improve the level of safety of
passenger and cargo transportation; moreover, it is also
envisaged to improve the quality of training of industry
specialists (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 2009).

The strategic goals of the state environmental policy
of Ukraine are recognized development of the Strategy
for Environmental Education for the Purpose of
Sustainable Development of Ukrainian Society and
Economy of Ukraine by 2015; as well as the creation
by 2015 of a system of environmental education and
professional development of civil servants whose
competence includes environmental protection

(Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2010). However, such
an Environmental Education Strategy has not yet been
developed, which has its negative consequences, as will
be discussed below.

The EU sets standards and requirements for advanced
training. Thus, the Recommendation of the European
Parliament and the Council (2008/C 111/01) has
defined general principles for ensuring quality higher
education and vocational education and training in
the context of European qualifications (European
Parliament and Council, 2008). Directive 2001/16/
EC of the European Parliament and the Council on
19.03.2001 on the interoperability of the conventional
rail system contains conditions, in particular regarding
the skill level of the personnel who operate and
maintain it (Dvulit, 2015). Directive 95/18/EC
stipulates the requirements for the skill level of safety
staff (European Council, 1995). Directive 2004/49/EC
sets requirements for the responsibility of each railway
undertaking and each infrastructure manager for the
level of training (including exams and certificates) and
the qualifications of their personnel performing security-
related work (European Parliament and Council, 2004).

As a result, the level of education, including
professional development, of Ukrzaliznytsia employees
becomes even more important in terms of the European
direction of the Ukrainian railways on the basis of
sustainable development.

The railway transport of Ukraine has a powerful
and extensive system of professional development of
workers, which includes training complexes directly
at enterprises of the branch and own educational
establishments – personnel professional development
centres (centres of professional education). In general,
11 branch vocational and technical educational
institutions operate at the railways, which carry out
training, retraining, and professional development of
the workforce. In accordance with requirements of the
current legislation, the training, retraining and advanced
training of workers for the needs of the industry are
carried out at the expense of employer companies
(Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1996).

Nevertheless, one should note a negative tendency
during 2012–2016 regarding the reduction in the
number of workers trained in new professions that have
undergone retraining or advanced training. This trend
was observed in general both in the Ukrainian economy,
in the transport sector, and in rail transport in particular.
In addition, it should be pointed out that from 2015, in
the static annual data provided by the State Statistics
Service of Ukraine, there is no section “Professional
Training and Professional Development of Employees”,
and hence official statistical information (State Statistics
Service of Ukraine, 2018).

According to Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On
Environmental Protection”, ecological knowledge is a
mandatory qualification requirement for all officials

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whose activities relate to the use of natural resources
and which has an impact on the state of the environment
(Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1991). However, for
today, in most structural subdivisions of Ukrzaliznytsia
environmental specialists are not specialized specialists,
but engineers of technical departments, metrology
engineers, health and safety engineers, energy, mechanic
engineers, masters and other specialists, who are only
assigned duties of ecologists in addition to other duties.
These workers are overwhelmed by their main place
of work with completely different issues that are not
related to the environmental protection. Only about 9%
of full-time employees are in positions of environmental
professionals and specialists: in 2012 – 9.34%, in
2013 – 9.22%, in 2014 – 9.17%, in 2015 – 8.87%, in
2016 – 8.87%; and there is a tendency for an annual
gradual decrease of this percentage. In addition, in some
structural subdivisions, ecological responsibilities are
generally separated by certain natural factors, namely
air, waste, water, and assigned to different workers.

The actual neglect of mentioned in Article 7 of
the Law of Ukraine “On Environmental Protection”
at railway undertakings and, therefore, the lack of
environmental professionals and specialists on the
railways of Ukraine, as well as the inadequate level of
their education and qualifications lead to a large number
of environmental fines and claims and, consequently,
the considerable expenses of Ukrzaliznytsia for the
payment of these penalties and claims. Thus, according
to the annual reports of the railways of Ukrzaliznytsia
in 2016, 169 decisions to impose an administrative
penalty for violating the requirements of environmental
legislation on officials of production units are issued
and, accordingly, these fines are paid – in the amount
of 40.324 thousand UAH, And 10 claims in the amount
of 3 902.834 thousand UAH are presented, of which
actually 2 claims were reimbursed in the amount of 191
884.96 UAH (Kravets, 2017).

The main violations detected during inspections
of Ukrzaliznytsia’s production departments: waste
management (55.5% of all fines), air protection (29%),
land protection (3%), water resources protection
(6.5%), in the field of protection, protection, use, and
reproduction of forests (6%). There are also penal
sanctions for organizational reasons that do not require
material costs but only increased control over: the
implementation of requirements of the legislation in the
field of waste management, rules of technical operation
of gas treatment plants. In addition, there has recently
been a tendency to charge penalties for exceeding the
permissible standards for discharging sewage into urban
sewage networks. The main grounds for filing claims for
damages for the harm caused to the environment are the
lack or untimely receipt of permits and the unauthorized
felling of trees (Reference, 2016).

All these negative phenomena testify to the
ineffective management system for raising the skills

of environmental professionals and specialists.
Therefore, it is considered necessary to increase the
number of competent, skilled specialists in the field of
environmental protection and use of natural resources
on the railways. In addition, environmentalists need
to constantly improve their knowledge, skills, abilities,
competencies and, therefore, to systematically improve
their qualifications and confirm their level with relevant
certificates. And the management of railways of Ukraine
should, taking into account the European direction of
the railways of Ukraine, make managerial decisions
regarding the proper financing and distribution of
funds for the training of environmental professionals
and specialists responsible for environmental resources
management sphere.

The subject of the research is to study the state of the
issue of advanced vocational training of environmental
professionals and specialists at six railway undertakings
of Ukraine (hereinafter – the railways (Cabinet
of Ministers of Ukraine, 2014)): State Enterprise
“Donetsk Railways” (hereinafter – Donetsk Railways),
State Territorial Branch Association “Lviv Railways”
(hereinafter – Lviv Railways), Odesa Railways, State
Enterprise “Pivdenna Railways” (“Southern Railway”,
hereinafter – Pivdenna Railways), State Territorial
Branch Association “Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways”
(hereinafter – Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways), State
Enterprise “Prydniprovska Railways” (hereinafter –
Prydniprovska Railways).

The purpose of the article is to study the problem
of providing the necessary skill level of postgraduate
education (advanced training) of environmental
professionals and specialists on six railways of
Ukrzaliznytsia. The following tasks are set for the
achievement of the set goal: 1. to study and evaluate
the state of the level of professional development of
environmental specialists and specialists of 6 railways
of Ukrzaliznytsia for the period from 2012 to 2016
and to carry out its structural and dynamic analysis;
2. to conduct calculations of taxonomic indicators
of the level of development of career development
system for environmental professionals and specialists
as distribution of expenses for advanced training for 6
railways for 2012–2016; 3. to carry out a questionnaire
of environmental professionals and specialists, whose
list of functional responsibilities, in accordance with the
job description (both staffed and part-time workers),
includes issues of the use of natural resources and
environmental protection – in order to clarify the
availability of environmental education, the length of
work on the railway, the length of work in positions
associated with environmental activities, the level of
satisfaction with the content of their work.

Research methodology: in order to achieve the target
goal and solve the set tasks, the following methods are
used in the article: 1) statistical methods and methods
of comparative analysis – for structurally-dynamic

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analysis of the number of environmental professionals
and specialists working in positions related to the
environmental protection; the number of those who
passed the advanced training; costs of advanced training
by railways of Ukraine; 2) questionnaires and expert
surveys of environmental professionals and specialists,
whose list of functional responsibilities includes issues
of the use of natural resources and environmental
protection, – to study and evaluate the availability of
environmental education, the length of work on the
railway, the length of work in positions associated with
environmental activities, the level of satisfaction with
the content of their work; 3) taxonomic methods – to
assess the development of a system for allocating costs
for the training of environmental professionals and
specialists for each of these six railways for each of the 5
years studied (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).

The scientific-theoretical and methodological basis of
the research consisted of scientific works and publications
of scholars, materials of scientific conferences in the field
of development of enterprises of the transport industry
in general and railways in particular, the study of issues
of professional development of employees.

The information base for the study consists of:
statistical data of the Ministry of Infrastructure of
Ukraine and PJSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”, the State Statistics
Service of Ukraine, statistical reporting and initial
documentation of the railways of Ukrzaliznytsia;
Internet resources, results of questionnaires and polls
of environmental professionals (Reference on the use of
results and individual proposals of Dvulit Z. P., presented
in the thesis for the degree of Doctor of Economics on
the topic: “Economic and Environmental Management
of the Sustainable Development of Rail Transport
Enterprises” № 1/21-16 on 19.10.2016) etc. Economic
calculations are made using modern methods and
computer technologies for the processing of statistical
materials.

The novelty of the research. The state of the issue of
ensuring the necessary level of professional development
of environmental professionals and specialists on six
railways of Ukrzaliznytsia is investigated. Namely: 1.
the state of the level of professional development of
environmental professionals and specialists of 6 railways
of Ukrzaliznytsia for the period from 2012 to 2016 is
researched and evaluated; its structural and dynamic
analysis is carried out; 2. calculations of taxonomic
indicators of the level of development of career
development system for environmental professionals
and specialists as distribution of expenses for advanced
training for 6 railways for 2012–2016 are made; 3. carried
out a questionnaire of environmental professionals and
specialists, whose list of functional responsibilities, in
accordance with the job description (both staffed and
part-time workers), includes issues of the use of natural
resources and environmental protection – in order to
clarify the availability of environmental education, the

length of work on the railway, the length of work in
positions associated with environmental activities, the
level of satisfaction with the content of their work.

2. Professional development of
environmentalists and railway specialists

Education is the basis of the intellectual, spiritual,
physical, and cultural development of the individual, its
successful socialization, economic prosperity, the key to
the development of society, united by common values
and culture, and the state. The purpose of education
is the comprehensive development of human being as
a person and the highest value of society, its talents,
intellectual, creative, and physical abilities, formation
of values and competencies necessary for the successful
self-realization, education of responsible citizens who
are capable of conscious social choice and directing
their activities in favour of other people and society,
enriching on this basis the intellectual, economic,
creative, and cultural potential of the Ukrainian
people, raising the educational level of citizens for the
sustainable development of Ukraine and its European
choice. Postgraduate education includes professional
development – acquiring new and/or improving
previously acquired competencies by a person within
the framework of professional activity or field of
knowledge (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2017).

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Professional
Development of Employees” (Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine, 2012b), the main areas of work of employers
in the field of professional development of employees
are, in particular: organization of professional training
of employees; stimulating them for professional growth;
provision of advanced training directly by the employer
or educational institutions usually not less than once
every five years. Advanced training of the employer’s
employees is continuous and carried out during their
work in order to gradually expand and deepen their
knowledge, skills, and abilities in accordance with the
requirements of production. To this end, the employer
periodically arranges for the employees professional
training, retraining, and advanced training through a
collective contract and agreements.

In its turn, the Law of Ukraine “On Environmental
Protection” (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1991)
states that raising the ecological culture of society and
professional training of specialists are provided by the
general obligatory complex education in the field of
environmental protection, including in the system of
vocational and higher education, advanced training and
retraining.

In order to meet the needs of the railway industry in the
retraining and professional development of managers
and specialists, there is a Postgraduate Training Centre
at the State University of Infrastructure and Technology,
which provides education services, where managers and

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specialists of different structural divisions of railways
of Ukraine, whose duties include the use of natural
resources and environmental protection, improve
their qualification. During training, environmental
professionals improve their qualification in the direction
“Efficiency of introducing environmentally sound
technologies in railway transport”.

3. Structural and dynamic analysis
of advanced training by environmentalists
and specialists of Ukrzaliznytsia

The number of specialists dealing with the use of
natural resources and environmental protection, in
total on 6 railways in 2012 amounted to 846 people,
of which only 79 people work full-time (9.34%),
while 767 people work on a part-time basis (90.66%);
in 2013 – 835 people, among them work full-time –
77 people (9.22%), work part-time – 758 people
(90.78%); in 2014 – 807 people, among them full-time –
74 people (9.17%), part-time – 733 people (90.83%);
in 2015 – 778 people, among them full-time – 69 people
(8.87%), part-time – 709 people (91.13%); in 2016 –
778 people, among them full-time – 69 people (8.87%),
part-time – 709 people (91.13%). As we can see, over
five years the total number of specialists has decreased
by 68 people or 8.04%, including there was a decrease in
2016 compared to 2012 in staff employees for 10 people
or 12.66%, and part-time workers – 58 people (7.56%).
Based on annual reports from railway undertakings on
environmental protection, in Fig. 1, we presented this
dynamics of the number of specialists dealing with the
use of natural resources and environmental protection –
in total for 6 railways for 2012–2016.

740

760

780

800

820

840

860

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

A
n

um
be

r o
f s

pe
ci

al
is

ts
o

n
6

ra
ilw

ay
s

Years

Fig. 1. Dynamics of the number of specialists on the railways
that deal with issues of environmental protection in general
on 6 railways in 2012–2016

Let us track the dynamics of the number of specialists
involved in the use of natural resources and environmental
protection, who have undergone advanced training in
2012–2016, for each of 6 railways, as shown in Fig. 2.
Moreover, on 6 railways in general, in 2012, from
846 people – 67 people have passed the advanced
training, that is, 37%; in 2013, from 835 people –
25 people (14%); in 2014, from 807 people – 30 people
(17%); in 2015, from 778 people – 25 people (14%); in
2016 from 778 people – 33 people (18%). This testifies to
the uneven tendency over these 5 years as to the number
of specialists who have passed the advanced training in
the environmental field. Thus, compared to 2012, when
37% of specialists have undergone advanced training,
there has been a significant decline in their number
since 2013 and, in the following years, their number was
approximately uniform: 14% in 2013, 17% in 2014, 14%
in 2015, and 18% in 2016. Altogether, for the period of

Fig. 2. Dynamics of the number of specialists on 6 railways that deal with the use of natural resources
and environmental protection, who have passed the advanced training in 2012–2016

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5 years in total for 6 railways, 180 people have passed
the advanced training, including: on the Prydniprovska
Railways – 51 people, Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways –
48 people, Pivdenna Railways – 35 people, Donetsk
Railways – 24 people, Lviv Railways – 13 people, Odesa
Railways – 9 people.

Fig. 3-8 reflect the ratio of the total number of
specialists dealing with issues of the use of natural
resources and environmental protection, and the
number of environmental professionals who have
improved their qualifications – for each of 6 railways for
2012–2016.

The highest level of advanced training is on the
Prydniprovska Railways, where, in total, for the last five
years it was passed by 51 environmental professionals, and
the lowest – Odesa Railways, where only 9 people have
passed it. Among 6 studied railways, no environmental
professional has upgraded his qualification on the
Donetsk Railways in 2015 and 2016 and on the Lviv
Railways in 2013 and 2015. It should be noted that there
is a very uneven structure of the number of environmental
professionals who have improved their qualifications,
both in the section of railways and by year.

100

120

140

160

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

N
um

be
r,

pe
op

Fig. 3. State Enterprise
“Donetsk Railways”

Fig. 4. State Territorial Branch
Association “Lviv Railways”

Fig. 5. Odesa Railways Fig. 6. State Enterprise
“Pivdenna Railways”

0
20
40
60
80

100
120
140
160

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

N
um

be
r,

pe
op

0
20
40
60
80

100
120
140
160

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

N
um

be
r,

pe
op

Fig. 7. State Territorial Branch
Association “Pivdenno-
Zakhidna Railways”

Fig. 8. State Enterprise
“Prydniprovska Railways”

Note: – the total number of specialists, dealing with the use of
natural resources and natural environment protection, – number
of environmental professionals who have improved their qualifications.

The highest percentage of environmental
professionals who have improved their qualifications to
the total number of specialists dealing with the use of
natural resources and natural environment protection
was on three railways in 2012: Donetsk Railways –
13.42%, Prydniprovska Railways – 11.81%, Pivdenno-
Zakhidna Railways – 11.43%, however, there was a
downturn in subsequent years. The other three railways
had the highest figures for the number of ecologists
who improved their qualifications to the total number
of specialists involved in the use of natural resources
and environmental protection, as follows: Pivdenna
Railways – 7.86% in 2013, Lviv Railways – 4.83% in 2016,
Odesa Railways – 3.39% in 2016. The lowest percentage
of the number of environmental professionals who have
improved their qualification to the total number of
specialists dealing with the use of natural resources and
environmental protection on the Odesa Railways for all
5 years (2012–2016) – below 1% in 2012–2014 (0.75%
in 2012, 0.84% in 2013, and 0.85% in 2014), 1.7% in
2015, and 3.39% in 2016. In addition, on each of five
other railways, it was the lowest in some years: Donetsk
Railways – 0.00% in 2015 and 2016, Lviv Railways –
0.00% in 2013 and 2015, Prydniprovska Railways –
2.76% in 2013, Pivdenna Railways – 3.68% in 2016,
Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways – 5.11% in 2013.

Thus, the ratio of the number of environmental
professionals who have improved their qualification to
the total number of specialists dealing with the use of
natural resources and natural environment protection
has changed during 5 years under study on 6 railways as
follows: Donetsk Railways – from 0.00% to 13.42%, Lviv
Railways – from 0.00% to 4.83%, Pivdenno-Zakhidna
Railways – from 5.11% to 11.43%, Prydniprovska
Railways – from 2.76% to 11.81%, Odesa Railways –
from 0.75% to 3.39%, Pivdenna Railways – from 3.68%
to 7.86%.

Moreover, it should be noted that the total number
of environmental professionals and specialists on
each railway in the last 5 years has changed somewhat
unevenly, however, in five railroads (except Lviv) in
2016 compared with 2012 there was a decrease in the
total number of these workers, and this reduction was
observed gradually every year from 2012 to 2016 on
most railways. The divergence in the total number of
environmental professionals and specialists fluctuated
by railways as follows: Donetsk Railways – 5.37%; Lviv
Railways – 4.73%; Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways –
15.00%; Prydniprovska Railways – 17.93%; Odesa
Railways – 8.52%; Pivdenna Railways – 6.2%.

4. Dynamics of expenses of railways
for advanced training

Let us track the dynamics of costs for the training
of environmental professionals in total for 6 railways
during 2012–2016, which is shown in Fig. 9.

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80400

33900 36000 34250

50622

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

U
A

Years

Fig. 9. Dynamics of costs for the advanced training of
environmental professionals in total for 6 railways during
2012–2016, UAH

As we can see, there was a sharp decline in costs in
2013, compared to 2012, more than doubled (which
correlates with 37% of environmentalists who have
completed advanced training in 2012 – compared with
14% in 2013); this tendency for minor expenses was
maintained during 2014–2015 (which also correlates
with 17% of environmentalists who have undergone
advanced training in 2014, and 14% in 2015), and in
2016 there was an increase in costs by almost half,
which, however, was only about 60% of the amount of
costs in 2012 (with the fact that in 2016 only 18% of
environmentalists have completed advanced training –
almost as much as in previous years of 2013–2015).

Let us analyse the costs incurred by Ukrzaliznytsia for
advanced training of environmental professionals during
2012–2016 in the percentage for each of 6 railways.
The structure of distribution of costs for training was
uneven and unstable. As none of the environmental
professionals improved qualification on the Donetsk
Railways in 2015–2016 and on the Lviv Railways in
2013 and 2015, therefore, there were no corresponding
costs for these railways in the specified years. A more
or less stable structure of the distribution of costs for
advanced training during this period was peculiar for the
Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railways, the cost of which in the
structure of total cost of 6 railways ranged from 23.88%
to 32%. In the remaining 5 railways, this structure was
leap-shaped and uneven. The largest fluctuations in the
structure of distribution of costs for advanced training
were on the Pivdenna Railways: from 11.94% to 44%.
The lowest costs for the professional development of
environmental professionals in total for the 5 years
studied were on the Odesa Railways, even lower than in
Lviv and Donetsk, where there were no such expenses
for two years at all. And the highest costs in total for
5 years were on the Prydniprovska Railways – five
times more than in Odesa; on the Pivdenno-Zakhidna
Railways – almost five times as much, as well as on the
Pivdenna Railways – where it was almost four times
more costs than on the Odesa Railways.

For the study of the state of the level of professional
development of environmental professionals on
6 railways, the definition of the structure of the
distribution of costs for their postgraduate education
in the context of 2012–2016, it is expedient to involve
methods of multidimensional comparative analysis.
This is determined by the multiplicity of objects and
processes that are characterized by the versatility and
ambiguity of Ukrainian railways as complex dynamic
systems.

Thus, let us calculate taxonomic indicators of the
development level of the system of distribution of costs
for the training of environmentalists on 6 railways of
Ukrzaliznytsia on the algorithm of taxonomic analysis
(Syrvetnyk-Tsarii V.V. and Duliaba N.I., 2016; Iliash
O.I., 2012; Pliuta V., 1980): formation of the matrix
of observations, standardization of values of elements
of the matrix of observations, identification of the
vector-standard, determination of the distance between
individual observations and the vector-standard,
calculation of the taxonomic coefficient of development.
The taxonomic index can reach the value in the interval
[0;1] and has the following interpretation: the closer the
value of the generalization indicator to one, the more
developed the individual object (process) in this period.
With its help, it is possible to estimate the “average” level
of values of characteristics characterizing a phenomenon
or a process reached in a certain period or a time point.

The calculations of the taxonomic indicator of the
level of development of the system for allocating
costs for the improvement of the qualification of
environmental professionals in total for 6 railways in
2012–2016 calculated by us showed the following
values ranging from 0.3608 to 0.4742: К2012=0.3608,
К2013=0.3921, К2014=0.4485, К2015=0.4742,
К2016=0.4356. Thus, by gradation of values of the
indicator, it is established that all 5 surveyed years were
characterized by an indicator below the average, which is
evidence of an ineffective allocation of funds for advanced
training in total for 6 railways per study year. True, the
level of development of the system for allocating costs for
the training of environmental professionals in total for 6
railways has shown a tendency for annual gradual growth
over 2012–2015: from 0.3608 in 2012 to 0.4742 in 2015,
however, slightly decreased to 0.4356 in 2016.

Moreover, the value of the taxonomic indicator for
2012 by individual railways was in the range from 0.2 to
0.39, which corresponds to the low level of development
of the system for allocating costs for the training of
environmental professionals. And over the next four
years, the value of this indicator on individual railways
ranged from 0.4 to 0.59, which, while indicating its rise
to the average level of development of the system of cost
allocation, however, had little leaping tendency: during
three years from 2013 to 2015, there was an increase
in the value of taxonomy indicators, and in 2016 it
decreased by 8.14%.

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4. Questioning of environmental professionals
and specialists of Ukrzaliznytsia

Given the uneven tendency on 6 railways in relation
to decreasing in 2013–2016 compared to 2012 in the
number of environmental professionals who have
undergone an advanced training, let us investigate this
problem in more detail. For the purpose of this study,
we conducted a questionnaire survey of managers and
specialists of various structural divisions of 6 Ukrainian
railways in advanced training courses at Postgraduate
Training Centre of the State University of Infrastructure
and Technology in the period from September 12 to 23,
2016 (Reference, 2016).

The choice of the form of an expert survey is
determined by the purpose of sociological research,
available resources, processing possibilities of the
received data. Therefore, we used a polling form, such as
a one-time individual survey (questionnaire).

The questionnaire consisted of 6 questions, forms
for filling in the personal data of the respondent and
provided for self-esteem results. The questions were
of open and closed formats. In the form of filling in
the respondent’s personal data, it was foreseen to find
out the education in the environmental specialty;
work experience in positions related to environmental
activities; the work experience in Ukrzaliznytsia in
general and in the positions, the list of functional
responsibilities, in accordance with the job description
(both staffed and part-time workers), includes issues
of the use of natural resources and environmental
protection; as well as satisfaction with the content of
activities in positions held. The experts conducted a self-
assessment on a point scale. Such additional information
made it possible to set the level of the expert group as a
whole. Principles of small samples and the sufficiency
of information were chosen to form the volume of the
sample population.

The list of respondents who formed the sample
population covered 31 environmental professionals and
specialists (managers, chiefs, deputy chiefs, specialists,
engineers on the ecology of services, departments,
sectors, directorates, structural units, stations, railways,
and other enterprises of railway transport). The
questionnaire included the following questions: 1. age
of the employee; 2. work experience in Ukrzaliznytsia;
3. work experience in positions related to environmental
activities; 4. work experience in Ukrzaliznytsia in
positions, which list of functional responsibilities, in
accordance with the job description (both staffed and
part-time workers), includes issues of the use of natural
resources and environmental protection; 5. availability
of higher education in an environmental specialty; 6.
satisfaction with the content of work in a position.

As a result of the processing and systematization
of data obtained during the survey, we have set the
following. The average age of the respondents was

39 years, the youngest employee was 24 years old,
and the oldest – 59 years old. The work experience of
the respondents in Ukrzaliznytsia varied from 2 to
40 years, and on average it was 16 years. The average
work experience in positions related to environmental
activities was 8 years, that is, half of the length of work
on Ukrzaliznytsia, 2 of respondents had such experience
only up to 1 year, 20 people had 10 years of work
experience, and 9 persons – more than 10 years, one of
whom has been working for such a post for 27 years. The
average length of work in Ukrzaliznytsia in the posts,
which list of functional responsibilities, in accordance
with the job description (both staffed and part-time
workers), includes issues of the use of natural resources
and environmental protection, was 7 years. A particular
attention is paid to the fact that only 5 employees
or 16.13% of the total number of respondents have
professional environmental education, that is, the rest
83.87% have no such education. 16 persons or 51.61%
are satisfied with the content of work performed on a
position, unsatisfied – 7 people or 22.58%, partially
satisfied – 8 people or 25.81%.

Consequently, we can draw the following conclusions
from our survey of environmental professionals and
specialists of Ukrzaliznytsia:
1) a very low percentage of employees who have higher
education in an environmental specialty;
2) for the most part, they are employees who have
sufficient work experience in positions related to
environmental activities, but a half of them are actually
dissatisfied with the content of the work performed
and, therefore, it has a significant impact on the quality
of their functional responsibilities and productivity
and thus not promotes their acquisition of new and/or
improved competences previously acquired within the
framework of their professional activities in the field of
environmental protection.

5. Research conclusions
In order to ensure the sustainable development of

Ukraine’s railways on the way to European integration,
EU requirements and standards must be taken into
account both in the reform of rail transport in general
and in the management of its impact on the natural
environment. The training of modern skilled personnel
is an important part of the strategy of sustainable
economic and ecological development of rail transport;
therefore, a special attention should be paid to the
training of environmental professionals and specialists
working in positions related to the use of natural
resources and natural environment protection. The
European direction of the railways of Ukraine requires
new approaches to the education and professional
development of such specialists.

Summing up the results of our research, we are
convinced that both the structure of the number of

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environmental professionals and specialists who have
increased the qualification, as well as the structure of
costs for the training of environmental professionals
and specialists of six studied railways, which are a part of
Ukrzaliznytsia, in the period from 2012 to 2016 is very
volatile. Thus, we arrive at the conclusion that during the
analysed period, such significant structural changes do
not correspond to the principles and provisions of the
sustainable development of rail transport enterprises.

And therefore, this structure needs to be improved
and optimized to ensure the stability and predictability
of costs of advanced training of environmental
professionals and specialists in order to reduce costs
of violating environmental legislation, minimizing
the amount of fines and claims, rational use of nature
and environmental measures, as well as to meet the
requirements of the European legislation in the field of
environmental protection and quality of postgraduate

education in terms of qualification improvement of
environmental professionals and specialists of railway
transport enterprises.

The results of the carried out research made it possible
to conclude that there is no complete information array
regarding the current state of the issue of professional
development of environmental professionals and
specialists, including assessment of the availability
of environmental education, work experience, and
satisfaction with the content of functional responsibilities
in positions occupied. Thus, first of all, it is necessary to
recognize the existence of this problem and, therefore, it
is necessary to adopt appropriate managerial decisions
in the direction of solving the identified problem,
which in the future will make it possible to reduce, and
subsequently, prevent the occurrence of environmental
penal sanctions and claims against Ukrzaliznytsia, and
other unpredictable costs.

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