“A Craftspeople Factory. A New Quality of Education in Wrocław Vocational Schools” is the name of an educational project that increased the chances of a successful start to working life for many students at secondary schools in the capital of Lower Silesia.
Employers are more willing to hire graduates with at least some work-placement experience and practical skills than those who can demonstrate only recently acquired knowledge confirmed by a diploma. Labour-market requirements are changing, which must lead to changes in the education system. Good skilled workers and specialists in their fields are in demand, while a university diploma does not guarantee employment. Many young people are thinking about acquiring a good profession, continuing to improve their skills and finding work. A good skilled worker is worth their weight in gold. Creating and developing learning systems based on practical vocational training can be achieved only through close cooperation with companies. The “A Craftspeople Factory” project is the best example of such activity.
“The most valuable aspect of this project was the opportunity to gain experience and for students to come into real contact with the labour market,” says Joanna Handziak-Buczko, the project manager at the Vocational Education Centre. “We sent 240 participants to placements or vocational internships at companies. The students worked 150 hours and were assigned specific tasks related to the profession in which they were completing their placement. Many received their first remuneration: a placement scholarship funded by the project. Sixty students took part in vocational courses that ended with examinations and the award of qualifications, for example to operate forklift trucks,” the manager adds.
A Good Profession, Better Work
A total of 300 students from 10 post-primary schools took part in the two editions of the project implemented by the Vocational Education Centre in Wrocław. The project involved vocational schools providing training in sectors crucial to Lower Silesia: automotive, electrical and energy, mechatronics and electronics, construction, aviation, transport, forwarding and logistics, IT, tourism and catering, and services (hairdressing and printing). The primary aim of the initiative was to equip young people with practical vocational skills and specialist knowledge sought on the labour market.
Marta Szymczak, a fourth-year student in class IV TC at Technical Secondary School No. 15, says that she wants to work as a computer graphic designer in the future: “Thanks to the well-equipped vocational training workshop at my school, I can learn about 3D digital printing technology and the process from design to print.”
Placements with Employers
The placements took place at many companies in Lower Silesia.
The students also gained access to the knowledge resources collected on the Interactive Vocational Platform. In addition, the project funded training to improve the qualifications of 10 vocational teachers, including training to obtain SEP electrical qualifications and to operate AutoCAD. Vocational training workshops at three institutions were also equipped with additional resources: Technical Secondary School No. 15 received a 3D printer and scanner with software, while the Gastronomy School Complex and the Vocational Education Centre received computer equipment.
During the series of “Closer to the Profession” meetings, students had the opportunity to speak directly with representatives of companies in the sector where they would soon be working. For example, at School Complex No. 3, representatives of Q Hotel Wrocław Plus told students about the secrets of working as, among other professions, a cook, waiter and receptionist. They also explained the recruitment process for employees in the tourism and catering sector and discussed the problems most commonly encountered at work and ways of dealing with them.
Piotr Baranowski, a fourth-year student in class IV GC at the Gastronomy School Complex on Kamienna Street, completed his placement at the Art Hotel restaurant. “The school prepared me very well for the practical training, and in the professional kitchen I learned above all how to organise work within a team.”
Information material from the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
