On Thursday, 26 July, in the conference room of the Bolesławiec County Office in Bolesławiec, county government officials signed an agreement with the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Cezary Przybylski to implement another major educational project aimed at improving the quality of teaching and the offer of the county’s vocational schools.
Developed by Cezariusz Rudyk, director of the County Centre for Education and Staff Training in Bolesławiec, the project “Vocational education as an opportunity for students of Bolesławiec County” continues the highly successful project “Education is the key to a career”. The new educational project will cover five county schools: the Complex of General and Vocational Schools, the Complex of Electronic Schools, the Complex of Commercial and Service Schools, the Complex of Construction Schools and the Complex of Mechanical Schools—in total, 414 students and 60 teachers.
“This is another education-related project implemented by Bolesławiec County,” Cezary Przybylski said during the ceremonial signing of the agreement. Students of the county schools will take part in extracurricular activities, improving their knowledge, including in mathematics. “Although the results of the latest school-leaving exams in Bolesławiec County were good, results across the country showed us that there is still much to do when it comes to passing the school-leaving exams,” the marshal stressed.
The value of the project “Vocational education as an opportunity for students of Bolesławiec County” is more than PLN 4.5 million, of which over PLN 650,000 will be allocated to equipping laboratories in five county schools. (“Technology and technical solutions are advancing so quickly that teaching aids need to be replaced from time to time,” C. Przybylski stressed).
The marshal added: “This is a very good project that addresses the needs of the labour market in the county and the voivodeship. Or, more broadly, in Poland.”
“Our aim is to respond quickly to changing industrial needs and adapt to them. As part of the project, a network of links between industry and vocational teachers will be created. This will enable the exchange of experience and better adaptation of training,” informed Karol Stasik, the Bolesławiec county head.
Deputy county head Tomasz Gabrysiak: “The labour market has been changing for 15–20 years; new employers and new production profiles have emerged. This is another challenge for vocational schools: adapting education to the needs of new employers and new areas of industry.”
It is also worth noting that teachers will improve their skills as part of the project.
What will the main activities be?
- extracurricular activities for students—language, mathematics and science classes
- additional specialist classes for students (related to learning specific occupations)
- career counselling in the form of individual and group meetings
- vocational courses providing students with additional qualifications
- IT courses and training to improve students’ skills
- vocational placements for students
- training and other forms (e.g. postgraduate studies) of improving the qualifications of vocational teachers
- equipping vocational laboratories in five schools for a total of PLN 656,725
- running a cooperation and experience-sharing network for teachers and employers.
The project will be implemented under the Regional Operational Programme for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship for 2014–2020 and co-financed by the European Social Fund (95 per cent of the value) and the state budget. Bolesławiec County’s own contribution: approximately PLN 250,000. Implementation period: January 2019–December 2020.