Poland: supporting skill development and the European Year of Skills

Background

The European Year has been an institution for almost 40 years. Its aim is to raise awareness of important issues in the European Union and to stimulate debate and dialogue between citizens and decision-makers. In 2023 and 2024, the European Union will focus on promoting lifelong learning under the banner of the European Year of Skills (EYS).

The Ministry of Family and Social Policy (Department of the Labour Market) is coordinating the European Year of Skills in Poland, with objectives in line with those set at European level. Several EYS-related events hav e been planned by different type of institutions, such as schools, universities, foundations and district employment offices.

The EYS in Poland

The international conference ‘What skills will we need in a changing world?’, held in Warsaw on 31 May 2023, launched the European Year of Skills in Poland. The conference objective was to open a public debate on the skills of the future, to provide policy guidelines for subsequent meetings of various stakeholders and their activities, and to signal the actions to be taken in the coming months of the EYS, such as work on possible individual learning accounts (ILA) schemes in Poland, measures to achieve the national target on skills by 2030, and promoting adult learning.

The Working Group on the Development of Skills for the Labour Market held its first meeting on 29 June. This group was set up within the Inter-ministerial team for lifelong learning and the integrated qualifications system, with representatives from social partners. The meeting aimed to discuss the roadmap for achieving the national target of at least 51.7% annual adult participation in training by 2030. The objectives and activities of the European Year of Skills were also presented. The team’s objectives include analysing the prospects for implementing the individual learning account mechanism in Poland, following the Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022.

The Congress on Professions, Qualifications and Skills, organised by the Ministry of Education and Science, took place from 21 to 23 November 2023. The congress summed up current work on the coordination mechanisms for the implementation of the Integrated Skills Strategy 2030 (ISS 2030) – a national policy for skill development in line with lifelong learning, and the Integrated qualifications system (IQS), which describes and categorises qualifications awarded in the education and higher education systems, and beyond. The congress allowed institutions involved in implementing the ISS 2030 and the IQS to share their experiences. Participants included ministries and their subordinates, supervised and cooperating institutions, regional authorities and other entities essential for developing the skills of children, young people and adults.

Job fairs, a forum for career guidance and one on adult education are examples of other ESY activities. There have been also skills competitions (EuroSkills Gdansk 2023) and an information campaign called ‘Shaping the future through skill development’.

Stay tuned

Poland's past and future events can be followed on the EYS website and in the European Year of Skills newsletter. This bulletin is targeted at the ministries and institutions particularly relevant to the promotion of EYS in Poland.

As part of the promotional activities, a series of articles were published in major newspapers and internet portals (i.e. Super Express). In addition, other institutions are encouraged to promote the EYS and undertake new initiatives to promote adult learning (i.e. the Bulletin of European Funds in Poland).

Read more

• About the European Year of Skills
• Meeting of the Working Group on Skills Development in Response to Labour Market Needs
• Integrated Skills Strategy 2030
• International conference: Which skills will we need in a changing world?
• Video promoting the European Year of Skills in Poland: Catch the wind