Pro-Energy has joined WISE Ukraine: we invest in people who shape the future of the energy sector

The energy sector is changing not only because of new technologies. Along with it, approaches to management, teamwork, leadership and professional development are also changing. For Pro-Energy, staff development is an integral part of the company’s own development.

That is why the Pro-Energy team has joined WISE Ukraine 2026 — a 14-month programme to develop leadership and institutional capacity for women professionals in Ukraine’s energy sector. The programme is being implemented in partnership with the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, LIFE Academy, the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and the Women’s Energy Club of Ukraine, and supports 25 participants.

Why did Pro-Energy join WISE Ukraine?

For the company, taking part in WISE Ukraine is not just an opportunity to undertake international training. It is a continuation of an approach in which professional expertise and team development are equally important.

The modern energy sector requires more than just robust engineering solutions. Specialists have to negotiate, present complex technological solutions to clients, work in conditions of uncertainty, coordinate teams and find strategies in challenging situations.

It is therefore important for Pro-Energy to create a professional environment in which female employees can confidently express their ideas, participate in decision-making, interact with clients and develop their own leadership potential. Participation in WISE Ukraine is one of the steps in this direction.

From Pro-Energy — to the international professional community

The programme is presented by Malvina Shynkarchuk, an engineer in Pro-Energy’s sales department, who is taking part in WISE Ukraine as Internal Team Lead — head of the in-house team and project.

Selection for the programme was on a competitive basis: 25 participants were chosen from among 62 applications.

What does WISE Ukraine teach?

One of the key benefits of the programme for the Pro-Energy team is the opportunity to learn from leading international experts and gain practical experience.

Among the areas that particularly resonate with the team are sustainable project management, leadership, communication and gender issues in the energy sector. But just as important is the programme’s professional environment: the opportunity to exchange experiences with female professionals in Ukraine’s energy sector, discuss professional challenges and find new approaches to tackling them.

For Pro-Energy, this also presents a chance to integrate more fully into the international energy community and to incorporate modern European expertise into its own practices.

Not just learning, but a specific project for change

A key feature of WISE Ukraine is that participants do not simply gain new knowledge, but work on a Change Project, which is intended to bring about concrete changes within their organisations.

The Pro-Energy project aims to create a more supportive professional environment for women in technical roles. Its main focus is on developing communication skills and self-confidence through in-house workshops and mentoring sessions based on real-life work situations.

This includes, in particular, negotiations with clients, public presentations and dealing with complex communication situations within the team. The idea is simple: it is better to practise a complex scenario during training than to face it for the first time in a real-life professional situation.

The expected outcome is to boost confidence, improve resilience to stress and develop more effective interaction skills amongst female professionals.

At company level, the project is also intended to promote more balanced teamwork, better communication with clients and greater representation of women in technical and decision-making roles. In the long term, this supports the development of a more inclusive and sustainable energy sector.

How does the team’s development affect clients?

At first glance, it might seem that leadership and communication skills are a separate matter from technical expertise. But for Pro-Energy, this is not the case.

The implementation of an energy project involves constant interaction between the client, engineers, suppliers, contractors and other stakeholders. It is not enough simply to propose a technically sound solution — one must be able to explain it clearly, listen to the client’s needs, reconcile the interests of the various parties and act constructively in complex situations.

The team therefore plans to apply the knowledge gained during WISE Ukraine to their day-to-day work: to improve communication with clients, identify their needs more accurately, present recommendations more effectively, and support projects at various stages.

This is precisely the practical value of investing in team development: ultimately, such investments benefit not only the staff, but also the quality of customer interactions and project outcomes.

What happens next?

WISE Ukraine is a 14-month programme, so the bulk of the work is still ahead of us. One of the key stages is a study visit to Sweden.

The participants will arrive in Stockholm for a week-long training.  Upon their return to Ukraine, a further two-day face-to-face training session, focusing on leadership, communication and change management.

It is important to Pro-Energy that the programme’s outcomes are not confined to the training environment alone. The company plans to adapt the knowledge gained to its internal processes: by holding seminars and practical sessions, simulating complex negotiation and communication scenarios, fostering a culture of mentoring, and refining its approaches to feedback.

The energy sector of the future starts with people

For Pro-Energy, sustainable development is not just about energy-efficient technologies, cogeneration or distributed generation. It is also about the people who create and implement these solutions and help businesses adapt to new challenges.

Taking part in WISE Ukraine allows the team to gain new knowledge, learn from international experience, strengthen professional networks and, most importantly, translate what they have learnt into tangible changes within the company.

We firmly believe that a strong team is one in which every individual has the opportunity to develop professionally, take on responsibility, influence decisions and realise their potential.

That is precisely why Pro-Energy continues to invest not only in technology, but also in the people who are shaping the future of Ukraine’s energy sector.