Bolesławiec County was selected to implement the project “Education Is the Key to a Career – a comprehensive development program for female and male students of five schools from Bolesławiec County” in the RPOWD.10.4.1 competition announced by the Marshal’s Office. On Wednesday, 23 November, a press conference was held at the Bolesławiec County Office, attended by, among others, Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Cezary Przybylski, County Head Karol Stasik, Deputy County Head Tomasz Gabrysiak, as well as Paweł Chudy from the Lublin-based company Syntea, the project partner. During the meeting, the funding agreement for the project was signed.
“I would like to congratulate the County on this project. Lower Silesia, I say this proudly and without exaggeration, is the most dynamically developing region both in Poland and in Central and Eastern Europe,” Marshal C. Przybylski said during Wednesday’s conference. “For years, it has been a pleasure for me to praise the teaching staffs and education managers in Bolesławiec. Bolesławiec County has ranked among the leaders in terms of secondary-school final examination pass rates for years. And this project gives us an opportunity to consolidate that position. We also hope it will ensure an influx of fresh, experienced workers into local industry, because at present we are experiencing a tremendous shortage of labour,” County Head K. Stasik added.
The project’s value is PLN 4,712,389.41. Implementation will begin on 1 January 2017. Nearly 1,200 students from five upper-secondary schools will benefit from it (the Construction School Complex, the Mechanical School Complex, the Electronic School Complex, the Commercial and Services School Complex, and the General and Vocational School Complex). The project was written in partnership with Syntea S.A. of Lublin. Its co-author is Cezariusz Rudyk, head of the County Centre for Education and Staff Training in Bolesławiec.
The project provides for specialist qualification courses for students in the five aforementioned vocational schools operated by the County, followed by examinations, vocational placements, sessions with a career adviser and other forms of student support. Each school will offer additional English and German classes, with an emphasis on technical language. The schools will be equipped with the latest equipment for conducting educational classes. Planned purchases include, among other things, the latest machine tools, an ultrasound scanner, computer laboratories with specialist software and modern construction equipment. The project, which is 95% financed from the European Union budget, also provides for training teachers to use specialist equipment. The County’s own contribution consists of the cost of classrooms used for training.