Reference year 2026
Version 2026
Drafted by Andrzej Stępnikowski, Member of Cedefop Community of apprenticeship experts for Poland
1Scheme history
The scheme has been functioning since the 1930s and was further developed in the 1950s by the Act of 2 July 1958 on professional learning, certain jobs training, conditions for employment of juveniles and initial practice Journal of Laws, no 45, item. 226 [1].
It was reshaped n 1970s, by the Act of Labour Code and special rights for apprentices and – later – it was widely spread by the end of
1989. In the following next three decades the apprenticeship system has been changed several times (1989, 1998, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019) and the number of apprentices has fallen from 291,250 apprentices (schooling year 2000/2001) to the level of 122500 (schooling year 2016/2017) [2]. In February 2023, there were 129,643 apprentices, of which 71,741 in craft companies. Lately the declining trend seems to change, with current estimation: 75000 apprentices in craft.
Apprenticeship has not gained greater popularity despite some actions undertaken by the Ministry of National Education (which are mostly focused on technical schools where apprenticeship is not offered) and the Polish Craft Association.
[1] Ustawa z dnia 2 lipca 1958 r. o nauce zawodu, przyuczeniu do określonej pracy i warunkach zatrudnienia młodocianych w zakładach pracy oraz o wstępnym stażu, Dz. U. nr 45, poz. 226
[2] Stępnikowski A. (2019), Master Craftsman’s competencies in the craftwork apprenticeship, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Special Pedagogics Academy in Warsaw, p. 99
The apprenticeship scheme started from traditional craftsmanship (master-apprentice relation) to prepare apprentices for the occupation and in the 2nd half of the 19th century it was being enriched by schools. In the period 1918-1939 the craft system was developed in parallel to industry and strengthened by the school-based system. After 1945 apprenticeships in the industry were gradually increasingly expanded. Starting from 1958 more and more apprentices had “dual status” of a juvenile worker and student.
Nowadays only about 2-2.5 thousand apprentices have the status of a juvenile worker without being a school student (~5% of all apprentices).
2Beneficiaries
Apprentices are at least 15 years old according to the Act of Labour Code and executive regulations. To start an apprenticeship, learners may not be over 18 years old (counting whole year).
In the Polish education system, apprentices are only those who have status of a juvenile worker and are between 15-18 years old.
According to the Ministry of National Education (in the review of public expenditures) there were 129,643 apprentices in February 2023 [1] (compared to 96,600 juvenile workers (apprentices) in the schooling year 2016/2017).
Approximately 2,000-2,500 apprentices who are not students (trained entirely at employers’ premises) are not included in the calculations, as their data are not included in System of Educational Information (SIO).
There are no complete statistical data as apprentices are caught “in-between” two ministries – that of education and of family, labour and social policy. They are also not included in the GUS statistics (General Statistics Office).
[1] MEN, dane.gov.pl
3Qualifications
Yes, all apprentices who pass the professional exam receive qualifications at Level 3 of the NQF/EQF.
This applies to graduates of 1st level of Branch School (former basic vocational school) that complete the apprenticeship qualification or the journeyman’s certificate in professions listed in Classification of professions for Branch schools (KZSB) [1].
The Ministry of Education develops and updates its classification of professions (qualifications) for branch schools (KZSB), whereas the Ministry of Labour maintains a much wider classification for labour market professions and specialties.
Apprenticeships, and especially craft ones, can be organised for professions in any of the two classifications.
[1] Act of 22 December 2015 on Integrated Qualification’s System (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 64. Ustawa z dnia 22 grudnia 2015 r. o Zintegrowanym Systemie Kwalifikacji, Dz. U. 2016, poz. 64
ISCED-2011 level (ISCED-P, 3-digits):
Basic vocational school (for youth) / juvenile workers; Basic vocational school leaving certificate (basic vocational education) - 353, Diploma confirming vocational qualifications (at the basic level) or Journeyman certificate - 353.
Basic vocational schools are renamed to branch (sectoral) schools as of 2017/2018.
The answer for this question depends on the character of qualifications.
In the case of the craft qualifications (journeyman), they can be obtained only through apprenticeship (or by experience and confirmed by exam conducted by craft chamber).
In the case of non-craft qualifications (e.g. in sales), the same qualifications can be achieved through apprenticeship or the school-based VET programmes at the corresponding level. Not all the qualifications offered at this level are envisaged for apprentices (and generally for students under 18 years old).
Starting from 2019 each VET student is obliged to take the professional exam for vocational qualifications.
In the case of apprenticeships where the employer is a craftsman (in the vast majority), apprentices take the journeyman exam at the Chamber of Crafts, in accordance with the regulations for qualification exams for the titles of journeyman (and for adults, of master) in the profession.
Where the employer is a non-craft company, apprentices take the exam in the relevant qualification at the Regional Examination Boards (OKE - Okręgowa Komisja Egzaminacyjna)
Apprentices in non-craft employers, who complete their theoretical education outside a branch school, i.e. in a further education and vocational qualification centre (ośrodek dokształcania i doskonalenia zawodowego), or at the employers’ premises, takes extramural exams.
The two options result in qualifications that are equivalent/ at the same level in the Polish NQF (level 3, see more: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/country).
Information about the form of education cycle is included in Europass (diploma supplement) and in a form of a number of NQF level written in “latin” (roman for school connected path qualification – but also students-apprentices in crafts).
Graduates of the apprenticeship scheme (mostly run in the context of the 1st level branch schools) receive qualifications at level 3 of the National and European Qualification Framework. Being positioned at this level, apprenticeships do not allow immediate progression to higher education, but graduates can progress to the 2nd level branch schools which, upon successful completion, lead to higher education.
About 5% of apprentices are juvenile workers without the status of a student (carrying out the apprenticeship entirely at the employer premises), still need to finish post-gymnasium (or nowadays post-primary school) education to become technician or acquire “matura” and continue their studies at higher level.
Full apprenticeship programmes last for 3 years (vocational preparation of juvenile worker – przygotowanie zawodowe).
The number of hours of practical vocational education depends on the occupation and is specified in the core curriculum for vocational education (Regulation of the Ministry of Education). It is further defined in the framework curriculum (Regulation of the Ministry of Education).
The Regulation of 16 May 2019 on practical vocational education defines the minimum and maximum percentages of education at the employer’s premises. In the case of apprentices, the share of the workplace component depends on the agreement with the employer and the school: the minimum is 970 hours for 3 years, or approximately 60% of the total programme duration.
The range of knowledge and skills acquired by students during practical activities including apprenticeships as well as the number of hours of these activities is determined in the curriculum for a given profession (approved for use in the school by the school principal.
After recent amendment of the education law there are some new possibilities for school directors to shape learning programmes, including access to additional vocational skills.
4Governance
The Ministry of Education has a central role when it comes to training standards, qualifications to be reached through branch schools and examinations of apprentices in non-craft employers.
Regarding apprenticeships in crafts, which represent the majority of all apprenticeships, at national level, the Polish Craft Association (Związek Rzemiosla Polskiego - ZRP) supervises the apprenticeship processes and the development of professional examination standards for journeyman and craft master titles.
https://zrp.pl/dzialalnosc-zrp/oswiata-zawodowa/
Chambers
Craft chambers supervise the learning process. Together with the Polish Craft Association they develop standards and requirements for journeyman and craftmaster examinations. They are also invited by ORE (Centre of Education’s Development) to support VET curricula development, including those used in apprenticeship programmes.
They can initiate development of new specialties with their curricula and examination standards. They are members of the newly created sectorial councils and the Programme Council for Competencies (rady sektorowe I Rada Programowa ds Kompetencji).
Social partners
Social partners have the right to draft opinions on developed proposals regarding the apprenticeship system. Those opinions can be in written or presented also at the forum of Social Dialogue Council (RDS). Members of those organizations can be nominated for members of other competent bodies (like sectorial councils, etc.). In Poland there are seven employer representatives (LEWIATAN, ZRP, BCC, Pracodawcy RP, ZPP, FPP, PTG) and three trade unions (Solidarnosc, FZZ, OPZZ).
Both employers and employees’ representatives are members of the newly created sectorial skills councils and the Programme Council for Competencies (rady sektorowe i Rada Programowa ds Kompetencji). The latter (RPK) consists of representatives of ministries, training institutions, social partners, universities, non-governmental agencies, as well as labour market stakeholders. The RPK mainly focuses on building cooperation between the education community and entrepreneurs; it also encourages the development of sectoral councils and implements recommendations in the areas of science and education.
They are also involved by ORE in the process of designing curricula, and they can also disseminate opinions on the developed curricula.
Sectoral Skills Centres were introduced to the education system in 2023. Major areas of the centres’ activities include vocational education and training, integration and support, innovation and development, professional counselling and promotion of VET. As part of their activities the centres carry out annual analyses of the labour market demand for skills, qualifications and professions in each sector, which are submitted to the Educational Research Institute in order to prepare the annual forecast of the demand for employees in vocational education professions. The nationwide network currently comprises 118 sectoral skills centres in a wide range of sectors.
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with research institutions and social partners, is conducting an ongoing process of adapting the core curriculum to the changing needs of the labour market.
Individual employers
For apprenticeships, an employer may submit to the principal of the school requests regarding the curriculum content, in terms of practical work that should be carried its premises.
If an employer is an organiser of an apprenticeship, it is obliged to prepare an education programme (usually uses programmes made by crafts for their members) together with school’s principal, that builds on the relevant programme basis
Craft guilds supervise the in-company training process, inspecting how training takes place at the workplace. They are also middlemen for remuneration of juveniles’ salaries in front of public authorities. They also act as a “bridge” of communication between the employer and the school. Guilds also draft reports about number, professions and progress of apprentices, including their preparation for the journeyman exam.
Craft companies that train juvenile workers are obliged to be members of craft guilds (based on the Craft act), but other non-craft companies are not obliged to such an affiliation.
Craft chambers (it takes at least ten craft guilds to create a chamber) conduct exams and the Polish Craft Association supervises the process of qualification assessment for apprentices and develops examination standards.
No other chambers have such rights in Poland, although they are also involved in apprenticeship (but rather as EU project’s beneficiaries).
Branch (sectoral) schools that most usually offer the theoretical part can be public and non-public, the latter established by associations, NGO’s and craft guilds and chambers.
The interim and annual (semester) assessments of practical activities organized at the workplace are set by the apprenticeship instructor.
Employers must issue a certificate that the students completed their practical activities and followed a training programme. Without this certificate it is not possible for students to participate in the corresponding exam.
Sectoral Skills Centres were introduced to the education system in 2023. Major areas of the centres’ activities include vocational education and training, integration and support, innovation and development, professional counselling and promotion of VET. The nationwide network currently comprises 118 sectoral skills centres in a wide range of sectors.
Ministries take care of legal framework and special protection for juvenile workers (special labour law with protective character, regulation on work conditions and salaries plus curricula).
The Ministry of Education has a significant role in elaborating the training standards (Programme Basis for branch education, followed by minimum learning programme standards). School directors enjoy some level of autonomy to specify further apprenticeship learning in collaboration with the employer.
The Ministry of Education develops and updates its classification of professions (qualifications) for branch schools (KZSB), whereas the Ministry of Labour maintains a much wider classification for labour market professions and specialties.
Apprenticeships, and especially craft ones, can be organised for professions in any of the two classifications.
Public employment services take care of the process of paying the incentives for company owners that decide to employ juvenile worker – such incentives (refundacje, dofinansowanie) are paid from the Labour Fund – governed by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
Regional Examination Boards (OKE) are regional public bodies dependent of the Ministry of Education, that organise the exams for apprentices in non-craft companies. (The Polish Craft Association has a mandate by the Ministry of Education to supervise processes of vocational preparation in craft companies and craft exams conducted by craft chambers.)
First stage sectoral schools:
● public schools (vast majority of schools) operated by local (county) authorities and associations;
● non-public schools with public school accreditation operated by different providers (associations, companies – commercial law companies, natural persons).
Apprentices may complete their theoretical education outside a branch school, i.e. in a further education and vocational qualification centre (ośrodek dokształcania i doskonalenia zawodowego), or at the employers’ premises. In this case the employer must ensure those delivering the theoretical learning hold a pedagogical qualification, statutorily specified. However theoretical education at the workplace conducted by the company owner or dedicated VET instructor is not so popular and it covers around 2-2,500 of juvenile workers that are not pupils of the schools.
Sectoral skill centers (BCU) can be used for parts of apprentice training.
General subject teachers should have at least a master’s degree.
Theoretical vocational subject teachers are required to have at least a master’s or bachelor’s /engineering degree, including pedagogical training.
Practical vocational training teachers are required to:
● have the same qualifications as required for teachers of vocational theoretical subjects or the title of journeyman/master in a craft or a pedagogical technical college (currently non-existing) diploma or a matura examination together with a vocational qualifications certificate and 2 years of work experience;
● have a pedagogical qualification.
If practical training takes place in employers’ premises, trainers must undergo a training in pedagogy (48 hours) and have a qualification in the corresponding occupation (technician), or be a craftmaster, or be a journeyman with 6 years of experience, or branch school 1st level graduate with 6 years of experience.
From 2019, VET teachers are obliged to participate in professional training at a company active in the field of the taught occupation. This new form of continuing professional development comprises 40-hour training cycles (over 3 years). This is required of both staff teaching theoretical vocational education subjects and practical vocational training. Teachers who are employed or operate companies in the field taught are exempt from this requirement.
Sectoral training in a given field of industry is also provided for VET teachers in sectoral skills centres (BCU).
Craft guilds conduct supervision of the apprenticeships among their members and other employers organisations supervise such training of juvenile workers among their members (non-craftsmen).
A self-assessment tool for employers exists since 2014 for companies that participate in apprenticeships, with focus on the quality of working conditions but also to some extent to quality of learning. It has been developed with the Labour Inspectorate.
To strengthen the role of the external examination as a quality assurance mechanism, all learners are required to take a State vocational examination (OKE) or a journeyman's examination conducted by chambers of crafts as a condition for school graduation. The Polish Craft Association supervises the process of qualification assessment for apprentices and develops examination standards.
The collection and dissemination of information on the formal general and vocational education system by the Education data system (System Informacji Oświatowej, SIO) is an important element in ensuring the quality of qualifications. The system is maintained in electronic form and uses the internet to provide the collected information. Every school and education institution has to submit data on topics such as learners, teachers, facilities and expenditure. Schools submit data through a web application. Information is collected regionally and then exported by regional education authorities to the education ministry. Some of this information is available to the public. The system was set up in 2004 but has been continuously modernised. This system includes data on apprentices.
The Institute of Educational Research (IBE) has started monitoring labour market transitions (post-Covid period 2021-2023).
Graduate tracking is sporadic (regional initiatives or individual studies).
5Training at the workplace
In line with the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (2019, (§1.2), to prepare a juvenile to work as a qualified employee or journeyman, vocational education should include:
1) practical vocational training, which is organized at the employer’s premises on the principles set out in separate regulations, as well as
2) additional theoretical education.
The theoretical part of the learning process may be organized at the company or at the training centre. In this case the employer must ensure those delivering the theoretical learning hold a pedagogical qualification, statutorily specified.
However theoretical education at the workplace conducted by the company owner or dedicated VET instructor is not so popular and it covers around 2-2,500 of juvenile workers that are not pupils of the schools.
Generally, a typical form of alternation is as follows: Apprentice is directed by the employer to undertake theoretical training in a 1st level branch school usually in the following pattern:
• 1st year of apprenticeship: 1 day at the enterprise and 4 days at the vocational (branch) school a week
• 2nd year of apprenticeship: 2 days at the enterprise and 3 days at the vocational (branch) school a week
• 3rd year of apprenticeship: 3 days at the enterprise and 2 days at the vocational (branch) school weekly.
Different patterns also exist, as e.g. an alternate system of 2 weeks at the company and 2 weeks at school, or 1 week at school and3 weeks at the workplace etc.
The form of alternation depends on the year of learning and the negotiations between the school and the employer (supported sometimes by craft organisations).
The Ministry of Education develops and updates its classification of professions for branch schools (KZSB) (branch schooling), whereas the Ministry of Labour maintains a much wider classification for labour market professions and specialties.
Apprenticeships, and especially craft ones, can be organised for professions in any of the two classifications, as there are 136 craft professions available in the two classifications (but there are exceptions on those taught to juveniles, through branch schools).
Vocational programmes are based in the Programme Basis for Branch Education (podstawy programowe kształcenia dla szkolnictwa branżowego). These are created for all professions listed in the Ministry of Education classification of professions for branch schools (KZSB). A programme basis comprises competencies for all students (personal and social), competencies to be developed in all professions of a specific sector and occupation-specific competences within a sector. They also provide the ground for the examination standards for relevant journeyman exams in crafts apprenticeship (2/3 of craft apprenticeships are included in the KZSB classification) [1].
The examination standards are the basis for apprenticeship training in ‘non-school’ apprenticeships that belong to the classification of the Ministry of Labour, although the theoretical part does not take place at schools.
After recent amendment of the education law there are some new possibilities for school directors to shape learning programmes, including access to additional vocational skills.
[1] Regulation of Minister of National Education of 16 May 2019 regarding programme basis for education in branch schooling professions and added vocational skills in certain professions (Journal of Laws of 2019, item. 991)
Vocational programmes are based in the Programme Basis for Branch Education (podstawy programowe kształcenia dla szkolnictwa branżowego). These are created for all professions listed in the Ministry of Education classification of professions for branch schools (KZSB). A programme basis comprises competencies for all students (personal and social), competencies to be developed in all professions of a specific sector and occupation-specific competences within a sector. They also provide the ground for the examination standards for relevant journeyman exams in crafts apprenticeship (2/3 of craft apprenticeships are included in the KZSB classification).
Each qualification includes specific sets of learning outcomes defined in the core curriculum for vocational education. Learning outcomes are grouped in units, which typically contain from several to over a dozen learning outcomes and reflect specific professional tasks. The core curriculum for general education determines the learning outcomes relating to the general education component and key competences provided by VET programmes.
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with research institutions and social partners, is conducting an ongoing process of adapting the core curriculum to the changing needs of the labour market. Key activities include: updating core curricula, developing teaching and vocational guidance resources, introducing new professions.
A new set of competences is being introduced in general and then vocational education, aligned with the Ministerial report ‘Compass for tomorrow’. Greater emphasis is expected on digital skills, literacy, numeracy, active learning, resourcefuleness etc. (expected to apply to VET as of 2026-2027).
An employer is obliged to hire and train a juvenile worker/apprentice in accordance with the curriculum of practical vocational education and an agreement with the corresponding school director (since 2019).
According to the law, the contract concerning practical vocational education defines, among other things, the form of practical training and its scope; dates of vocational training start and completion; the rights and obligations of the parties.
Programme Bases for branch schooling set the ground for the content of training and are further elaborated by the Ministry of Education.
Since 2019, increased autonomy of school directors is introduced, as they can further specify the content of training in written in cooperation with the employer.
In line with the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (§10.1, 1996; 2019), an employer:
• directs young people to the theoretical training at a basic vocational school (now 1st level branch school); or
• directs young people to a training centre for theoretical education and vocational training; or
• organizes theoretical training on its own.
The employer is obliged to:
• recruit and train a juvenile worker/apprentice in accordance with the programme of practical vocational education.
• plan the practical training of the apprenticeship.
• equip the learner with personal protective equipment required at a given position, protective clothing and working tools, materials and other necessary equipment, and adhere to the provisions on the protection work and health of young people.
In line with the Regulation on practical vocational education (2019), the entities (including employers) that host students or young people taking part in practical vocational education (including apprentices), among others:
• provide the material conditions for the implementation of practical training.
• appoint the appropriate teachers, apprenticeship instructors and tutors.
• familiarise learners with the organization of work, work regulations, and with the provisions and principles of safety and health at work.
Until 2019 there were more restricted rules concerning the person of a VET instructor, it was required to have at least professional title of a craftmaster or technician.
Since then, journeymen and people with IVET education (3rd level of Polish Qualification Framework) with at least 6 years of experience can become workplace instructors in apprenticeships.
Candidates also have to accomplish a pedagogical course for practical instructors consisting of 48 hours of classes, including methodology of teaching, basics of pedagogy and psychology (previously this lasted 96 hours).
[1] Regulation of Minister of National Education of 22 February 2019 regarding practical teaching of profession (Journal of Laws of 2019, item. 391)
[2] Notice of the 25 of May 2023 of the Seym Marschall on the publishing of Act on the prevention of sexual crimes threats and protection of juvenile pupils (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1304)
An employer that does not provide sufficient training can lose the right to conduct training and must return the financial subsidies.
In case the apprentice does not pass the final vocational examination(s), the employer does not receive the additional subsidy of the training costs that is paid at the end of the programme (dofinansowanie).
6Contract and compensation
An apprentice is formally an employee first, and usually then becomes a student and a learner of the profession.
In most cases, an apprentice carries out its training both at the workplace and in 1st level branch schools (SBI). In such case, in line with the Act on the education law (2016), the apprentice acquires a dual legal status:
• a juvenile worker to whom the rules of the Labour Code apply as well as the resulting implementing regulations.
• a student to whom the rules of the Act on the educational law apply as well as the relevant implementing regulations.
There are cases that the apprentice does not attend school at all and therefore does not have the status of learner.
The legal basis for practical activities is an employment contract for vocational training concluded between the juvenile worker/apprentice and the employer.
It is a mandatory document required mainly because of the Labour Code (Article 195 § 1 of the Labour Code) and its executive acts.
The employer is obliged to conclude a written employment contract with a young apprentice, according to the provisions of Article 195 § 1 of the Labour Code. This means that a young person is formally employed.
The contract is based on the Labour Code, but it is a specific type of contract resulting from the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 28 May 1996 on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration - and its following changes (Journal of Laws of 2019, item. 1636).
Apprentices receive the same level of social protection / rights as regular employees (e.g. leaves, contribution to social security / pension rights etc.).
An employer who concludes an employment contract with an apprentice shall notify the mayor competent for the place of the apprentice residence.
If the employer is a craftsman, the appropriate chamber of craft shall be also notified (§3a of the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices).
Additional copies of the contract are passed by a craftsman/employer to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), Tax Office and the vocational school, as long as a young apprentice is undertaking education in the school system.
Starting from 2019, an agreement with apprentice candidates’ certification on finishing primary school is also notified to the school’s director.
Some arrangements (like the number of days to spend at company and ways for monitoring processes) are also attached to the apprentice-employer contract.
Employers, who employ young people within the scheme of vocational preparation of juvenile workers, are obliged to pay a salary to their apprentices.
Employers cover parts of the social security insurance costs and may also cover other types of expenses.
According to the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (1996; 2019), a juvenile worker is entitled to remuneration throughout the whole period of vocational training, for which the contract has been signed.
According to the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (1996; changes in 2019), apprentice remuneration is calculated as a percentage of the average monthly wage in the national economy in the previous quarter (in force since the first day of the month following the announcement by the President of the Central Statistical Office in the "Polish Monitor").
Since September 2023, the percentage of remuneration was increased by 1 p.p, as referred to above, and actually is at the level of:
1) not less than 8% in the first year of study;
2) not less than 9% in the second year of study;
3) not less than 10% in the third year of study.
This development increases the averages monthly remuneration from 70-90 Euros a month before September 2023 to 140-190 Euro in 2025.
Despite this being a positive development, is considered as insufficient to significantly improve attractiveness of apprenticeships, especially in the context of an increased attention given to other forms of upper secondary VET (see Q4 of the Polish country fiche).
The employer can also provide additional remuneration on top of the minimum one, but this is not mandatory.
7Financing and incentives
Employers pay the wage, but they can get reimbursement for the apprentice wage and social security insurance costs from the Labour Fund, which is part of the state budget (although it is created mainly by contributions from all companies in the country).
Employers pay a wage to apprentices participating in the scheme and cover parts of the social security insurance costs.
The minimum amount of the salary ranges between 140-190 Euro/month (increased from 70/90E) and cannot be less 8% (in the first year of training) 9% (in the 2nd year of training) and 10% (in the third year of training) of the average monthly salary in the previous quarter (increased from 5-6-7% respectively in 2023, almost doubled compared to 4-6% in 2018).
Some additional salaries were also paid from the structural funds in the frameworks of projects.
Employers can be reimbursed for these expenses by the state budget (Labour Fund), largely using company contributions, and by the Polish Craft Association.
Employers can be reimbursed for the apprentice wage and social security insurance costs from the Labour Fund (Fundusz Pracy), which is part of the State budget, but is supported by 96-98% from contributions from all companies in the country.
Financial support to employers has increased.
The Labour Fund provides incentives for employers involved in apprenticeship in two ways:
• Remuneration of apprentice’s salary
• Subsidy for employers who had successfully trained a journeyman or led an juvenile to the acquisition of qualification after the apprenticeship: one-time “reward” 2,700 Euro per apprentices (up to 3000 Euro is possible in certain professions listed by the Institute of Educational Researches and published by the Minister of National Education – such as: Notice of Minister of National Education of 22 March 2019 on prognosis of the employers needs in the professions of branch schooling at the national and regional labour markets) (amounts increased from 2,000 and 2,500 respectively).
Vocational preparation of juvenile workers in crafts (crafts apprenticeship) is also supported by the Polish Craft Association “Educational Fund” (Fundusz Oświatowy ZRP). This Fund supports promotional spots, publications and articles that promote apprenticeship.
Some actions connected to the final journeyman / craft exams are also financed by the EFS project “New quality of craft exams” (2016-2020) conducted by the Polish Craft Association [2] – in parallel to the Central Examination Board (CKE) project [3] (which include also the development of on-line exams applications) – dz. 2.15 PO WER (2016-2020).
Wages and their subsidisation are based on several regulatory documents, e.g.:
• The Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 13 August 2019 on changes in Regulation of vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (Journal of Laws of 2019, item. 1636)
• The Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 24 July 2019 on changes in the Regulation on Labour Fund’s remuneration of salaries paid to the apprentices (Journal of Laws of 2019, item.1395)
• Funding for costs of training juvenile workers/apprentices (subsidy) – art. 122 of the Act of 14 December 2016 on the education law (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1148, 1078).
[1] Stępnikowski A. (2019), Master Craftsman’s competencies in the craftwork apprenticeship, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Special Pedagogics Academy in Warsaw, p.35.
[2] https://ewr.zrp.pl
[3] https://cke.gov.pl/egzamin-zawodowy/
Vocational preparation of juvenile workers in crafts (crafts apprenticeship) is also supported by the Polish Craft Association “Educational Fund” (Fundusz Oświatowy ZRP). This Fund supports promotional spots, publications and articles that promote apprenticeship.
Sectoral Skills Centres were introduced to the education system in 2023, with tasks related to also the promotion of VET.
Support by Chambers, e.g. Polish-German Chamber provided support in introducing elements of the German dual system. Craft Chambers are also active in supporting companies that participate in apprenticeships.
As of 2025, a web platform exists to inform employers about possible collaboration with different education and training providers, including through apprenticeships. It also allows training companies to post apprenticeship/training placements (although it is not widely used yet): Integrated Education Platform, Infozawodowe.
Teachers, in-company trainers (but also apprentices) can be trained in Branch Skills Centres (Branżowe Centra Umiejętności) that are financed by the KPO (National Recovery Programme). This is used for teachers and trainers CPD.
According to the Regulation on vocational preparation of apprentices and their remuneration (1996; 2019), a juvenile worker is entitled to remuneration throughout the whole period of vocational training, for which the contract has been signed.
Renumeration of the salary (refundacja wynagrodzenia młodocianego) is paid by Labour Fund mainly for the time spent at the workplace but the subsidy (dofinansowanie) is paid with certain sum per month and it includes both forms of education – company and school.
In addition to paying the wage, an employer who employs juvenile workers: 1) covers the costs of the examinations if they are passed in the first available exam period; 2) may cover costs for apprentices retaking the exams.
An employer may finance the costs of travel and stay for juvenile workers who attend schools or training centers outside their place of residence and work.
The employer can also provide additional remuneration on top of the minimum one, but this is not mandatory.
Since 2015, ORE (Institution of Education Development) introduced systematic guidance offer to all learners, including Branch schools. Apprentices can access support by guidance practitioners at school. Schools are encouraged to develop their own programme to implement the intra-school guidance system for each new school year.
As of 2025, a web platform exists to inform learners about different education and training options, but also of labour market needs, professions, and posts from training companies. It includes information on VET/apprenticeships Integrated Education Platform, Infozawodowe.
Grants for apprentices are usually foreseen when it comes to involve apprentices in EU funded projects, like Erasmus+.
From 2023 there is also non-financial bonus as apprentices together with other students are allowed to take part in a branch-professional training (branżowe szkolenia zawodowe) enabling them to confirm and acquire another labour market qualification (Polish Qualification Framework).