Development and promotion of the VET sector in Poland - How to promote and run a patronage class in Polish conditions based on the experience of Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany

Project facts

Project promoter:
Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce(PL)
Project Number:
PL-EDUCATION-0250
Status:
Completed
Final project cost:
€87,937
Donor Project Partners:
WorldSkills Liechtenstein Office(LI)
Other Project Partners
Institute for Labour Market Analyses (IARP)(PL)
Powiatowe Centrum Edukacji Zawodowej we Wrześni (PCEZ)(PL)
Programme:

Description

The project implemented in 03.2022–02.2024 by partners from PL: AHK, IARP, PCEZ; from LI: WorldSkills.
The aim is to update the strategy of development and popularization of VET in Września district by 02.2024 to include elements related to promotion and cooperation as regards patronage classes run by schools and enterprises, based on solutions from CH, LI, and DE. The strategy is to develop vocational education in light of changing economic and social needs, strengthen cooperation between education and entrepreneurs, develop inclusive education (for women, the disabled, people at risk of social exclusion), facilitate organization and management among educational institutions and develop cooperation among sectors, exchange of good practice.
Project participants: Partners’ representatives (PL–9, LI–2), recipients of outputs: vocational education institutions.
Activities:
1/ establishing cooperation with institutions in charge of dual education in LI, CH, DE, getting to know applicable systemic solutions and good practice related to cooperation between schools, work establishments, and educational institutions, recruitment to vocational schools, incentive scheme.
2/ online meetings with partners and participating institutions from DE and CH.
3/ works aimed at developing 8 outputs: a/ 3 reports on vocational education in LI, CH, and DE, b/ summary presentation for 3 countries, c/ analysis of opportunities of implementing solutions from LI, CH, and DE in PL, d/ 2 handbooks for teachers and representatives of schools and supervising authorities, e/ Development Strategy for Września District regarding vocational education.
Impact: nation-wide, during conferences and workshops, outputs available online. After the project ends, the Vocational Education Committee will organize discussion meetings on VET concepts and solutions which have been modified and adopted to the situation in Września district and may be implemented.
4/ Dissemination: 2 onsite conferences and 1 online

Summary of project results

Wrzesin County, like many regions in Poland, is facing a shortage of workers - graduates of vocational schools (sz. branżowa+technikum). AHK Poland is trying to help employers by creating patronage classes for various entrepreneurs.
In our experience, the biggest problem in creating such classes is obtaining motivated vocational students and regulating cooperation between schools and employers.

 Learning about good practices in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany, as well as developing an analysis comparing Western VET education systems with the Polish system and guides for entrepreneurs, made it possible to create a new strategy for vocational education in Wrzesnia County (the strategy was adopted at the end of 2023). Documents posted on the edunet-poland.pl website and 4 dissemination events (2023) as well as online meetings open to the general public (2022) made it possible to popularize these solutions.

The new strategy is already finding imitators in other regions in Poland (Example: from 25.02 to 22.03.2024 in Września the youth of ZS in Ostrow Mazowiecka - 19 people together with 2 teachers and a practical vocational training instructor from the Alpla company will stay on modular dual training). We also look forward to further positive results of the project.

Summary of bilateral results

Without the participation of the Liechtenstein Partner (WorldSkills), we would not have been able to reach all the institutions that enabled us to implement Result 1 - Learning about the VET system in that country. The development of Result 1 contributed to our guides for entrepreneurs on cooperation with educational institutions and acquisition of students for patron classes. (Res 6 and 7). The VET system in Liechtenstein was also described in a comparative analysis (rez 5) and contributed to the development of a new strategy for VET education in Wrzesin County. Liechtenstein is a little-known country in Poland. The presentation of VET regulation in Liechtenstein certainly contributed to the great attractiveness of our dissemination activities. (Participants wanted to learn about the new, unfamiliar VET system in Liechtenstein). The comparison of the VET system in the donor country and Poland was interesting not only for educational institutions or entrepreneurs interested in the VET system, but also for institutional actors (Representatives of the Ministry of Development and the Center for Education Development and the Institute of Educational Research were present at the dissemination event.)

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.