Guidance System in Poland

OVERVIEW

Until 2021, two Euroguidance Centres in Poland were functioning - one in the labor department, in the Labor Market Department of the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology, the other in the education department, in the Department of Strategy, Qualifications and Vocational Training of the Ministry of Education and Science. The National Erasmus + Agency and the European Solidarity Corps (Foundation for the Development of the Education System) began to act as the National Euroguidance Centre 1 April, 2021.

Since 1993, the Foundation for the Development of the Education System manages European programs, projects and initiatives that enable the expansion of basic or specialist knowledge, acquisition of new skills and competences on the path of formal, non-formal and informal learning, allowing the development of interests and passions through activities undertaken in other countries and in local communities.

The Foundation for the Development of the Education System acts as the National Agency of the Erasmus + Program (since 2014) and the European Solidarity Corps (since 2018). In the international arena, FRSE represents Poland, and in the country organizes recruitment and supervises the financing of projects.

In the non-public sector, there are vocational guidance agencies as well as non-governmental organisations and associations, which, to a varying degree, also take measures in the field of vocational guidance. Some commercial educational institutions, e.g., Vocational Training Centres, employ vocational advisors who help learners choose appropriate training opportunities.

POLICY

The basic direction of Euroguidance Centre is constant needs analysis, reception and assessment of the current situation in the European dimension of guidance throughout life in Poland. Particular attention is given to all 8 areas:

1. Promotion of the awareness of European instruments on skills and qualifications at national level within guidance practitioners and relevant staff in learning institutions, employment services and other relevant organisations;
2. Training of guidance practitioners on the new Europass Platform (in close cooperation with the National Europass Centres) to ensure its use by guidance practitioners and individuals;
3. Training of, and advice to, guidance centres on European opportunities for education, training and work;
4. Support for cooperation, coordination and mutual learning at European, national, regional and local level, across the different contexts of lifelong guidance, on themes such as professionalisation, digitalisation and innovation of guidance provision; in this context, close coordination with Cedefop’s Careersnet;
5. Support of competence development of guidance practitioners and raise their knowledge and awareness of recent developments in lifelong guidance (through training, webinars, cross-border seminars, peer learning, conferences and other learning opportunities);
6. Establishment of specialised information and support tools for guidance practitioners;
7. In close cooperation with the European Commission, ensure that national information on learning opportunities and on lifelong guidance, as foreseen in the Europass Decision, is published on the Europass Platform.
8. Other relevant activities in the area of lifelong guidance linked to the national implementation of European policies.

SERVICES AND PRACTICE IN POLAND

In the labour sector basic vocational guidance services are provided by local labour offices (LLO), acting within the PES. Since 2014, vocational guidance has been made more widely available , as some vocational counsellors currently perform the tasks associated with current, comprehensive care of the client, by acting as client advisors. Different groups of LLO staff may act as client advisors. A decision on entrusting the function of the client advisor lies within the competence of the local labour office management.

Within the structure of the public employment services, there are also information and career planning centres (ICPC) being specialised organisational units of the Regional Labour Offices, providing services on career planning. The services provided by ICPCs may be used by both the unemployed and job seekers registered with local labour offices, as well as all interested persons over 18 and having no status of the unemployed or job seekers. ICPCs offer assistance by vocational counsellors and consultation with a psychologist, they also organise information projects and workshop activities aimed at vocational activation.

Assistance offered by local labour offices and ICPCs takes various forms. First of all, it is individual guidance on the career development, associated with determining professional interests and talents, in some cases with the use of psychological measurement tools. As part of various forms of group guidance, vocational counsellors from PES offer: group vocational information, labour market information, assistance in writing application documents, information about other assistance institutions and on job service in Poland and abroad.

For the implementation of vocational guidance and information for children and young learners, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education is responsible. The Ministry shall be responsible for legislative activities, inter alia, in matters related to the organisation of psycho-pedagogical assistance and vocational guidance. The main task of the Ministry in the field of vocational guidance is to provide children and young learners with access to professional assistance allowing to make rational educational and vocational decisions. These tasks are carried out by the Ministry also through non-legislative activities, such as the creation of tools and methodological materials to be use in the planning process of the educational and career path of students. Vocational guidance in the education sector is implemented by the following entities:

• schools and educational institutions: career guidance classes and classes related to the choice of the field of education and profession are conducted. The tasks of vocational counsellors and teachers pursuing their tasks include, inter alia, systematic diagnosis of students’ demand for educational and vocational information needs and assistance in planning of education and career; collecting, updating and sharing educational and vocational information relevant to the entire level of education; providing individual consultations to students and parents; conducting activities that prepare students to choosing further education path as well as planning education and career.
• psycho-pedagogical counselling centres: these centres are responsible for providing psycho-pedagogical assistance to students, as well as to their parents and teachers, including conducting career guidance classes.

The Ministry of National Defence shall supervise the implementation of reconversion assistance within the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. The essence of the staff reconversion within the armed forces is to prepare soldiers to be made or already redundant from professional military service for taking up employment or starting up business on their own. The staff reconversion system functions based on the specialised institutions called Vocational Activation Centres, which are based in eight cities. Their activity is coordinated by the Central Vocational Activation Centre based in Warsaw.

The essential objectives of the reconversion assistance system are:

• providing assistance to all soldiers leaving the army,
• helping particularly affected families of soldiers,
• creating the conditions for the use of vocational guidance and conscious shaping of professional career by soldiers as early as during military service (building own career path).

Vocational guidance in universities is implemented by the Academic Career Offices (ACO). The Constitution of the Republic of Poland provides universities with the autonomy and the principles of their operation are laid down by the Act of 27 July 2005 Law on higher education. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education, inter alia, confers the rights to provide degree programmes and deals with the issues of the compliance of the university authorities’ activity with the legislation and the statutes. ACOs are units acting for vocational activation of university students and graduates and are managed by a university or student organisation whose tasks include in particular:

• providing university students and graduates with information about the labour market and possibilities of raising professional qualifications,
• collecting, classifying and sharing job offers, internships and training,
• keeping a database of university students and graduates interested in finding job.

Most Offices act as autonomous units of universities, established by decision of the university Senate and subordinate to its authorities. ACOs are not commercial institutions, they are financed mainly from university funds.

TRAINING

Issues concerning the level of education and professional experience of people employed in public employment services are regulated by the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 18 March 2009 on the remuneration of local government officials. The professional requirements related to the education and vocational skills as well as to number of years in employment must be fulfilled. In the case of the post of vocational counsellor these requirements are as follows – higher education and one year in employment in the area of vocational counselling – and in the case of the post of trainee vocational counsellor the requirements are – higher education and no experience in vocational counselling or secondary education and one year in employment in the area of vocational counselling.

The tasks of the education system with regard to educational and vocational counselling are performed by teachers-career counsellors and teachers appointed by the headmaster of school or institution. Qualifications of teachers-vocational counsellors are defined in the Ordinance of the Minister of National Education of 1 August 2017 on the specific qualifications required of teachers. Qualified for the position of a teacher-guidance counsellor in primary schools, secondary schools and psychological and pedagogical counselling centres is a person who graduated in the field of career counselling and has pedagogical qualifications or completed a master's degree in any field and completed postgraduate studies in the field of vocational counselling and has pedagogical qualifications. Qualified for taking up the position of a teacher-guidance counsellor in primary schools is also a person who has completed first-cycle studies in the field of vocational counselling and has pedagogical qualifications or graduated from the first-degree studies in any field (specialisation) and competed post-graduate studies in the field of vocational counselling and has pedagogical qualifications.

Additionally, the National Euroguidance Centre offers a number of training courses for vocational counsellors, e.g. training of guidance practitioners on the new Europass Platform (in close cooperation with the National Europass Centres) to ensure its use by guidance practitioners and individuals or trainings with VET Experts National Team.

Every higher education institution which educates vocational counsellors has its own curriculum approved by the Minister of Science and Higher Education.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Act on the promotion of employment (2014) stipulates that the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy performs the labour market tasks through, among others, labour market research and analyses and dissemination of their results, including annual analysis of the functioning of labour offices to improve the effectiveness of their operation. The tasks of regional government in the field of labour market policy include labour market research and analyses, including monitoring of professions and the analysis of demand for labour to increase the effectiveness of implemented actions for employment growth and promotion.

ETHICS

The issues relating to ethical standards in vocational guidance are regulated in the above Act on the promotion of employment (2014). Other documents on ethics in career guidance and counselling are recommendations and do not constitute a binding law, e.g. the Ethical Standards adopted by the General Assembly of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG).