According to the report “Tomorrow's Skills” of the Santander and Ipsos groups, 83 percent Polish employees believe that continuous learning is a condition of survival on the labor market. The priority list includes: knowledge of digital tools, foreign languages, communication, mental resistance and flexibility. For 58 percent Knowledge of artificial intelligence is also key to respondents. Only a third is afraid that AI will replace them at work.
Fewer and fewer people believe that the diploma opens all the door. More than half of the respondents claim that today the most important thing is the experience and skills gained outside the formal education system. 38 percent respondents believe that the education they received before entering the labor market did not prepare them enough, and 39 percent. I regret choosing a field of study.
The main barriers to development
Unfortunately, not everyone today has the real opportunity to develop their competences. Every third person trains himself, using publicly available online sources. Most often the obstacle is: high training costs, lack of time and insufficient support from employers.
Only 43 percent employees admits that their company offers any training. What's more, although educational platforms are available at your fingertips, few can use them – only 11 percent. respondents declare that he knows at least one of them.
In addition, certified industry courses, e.g. from project management or data analysis, cost from 1200 to 2500 PLN and require several dozen hours of own work. For many, it is an insurmountable barrier.
Who should pay for the development of competences?
Responsibility for the development of competence is the subject of academic discussions, industry conferences and business strategies. Only 29 percent respondents believe that this is only the employee's task. Most of them attribute this role to companies and the public sector.
Expectations for employers are particularly strong in Europe – half of the respondents consider them the main responsible for adult education. In Poland, the belief that a shared model is needed is dominated.
Not all employers remain passive
Employers begin to engage in education. Aston Martin combines obtaining a diploma with work under the CMDA program. Nestlé develops leadership programs with paid rotations between departments. In Poland, an example of business involvement in education is the BP Group, which implements programs for business directions graduates and cooperates with youth organizations, sharing experience in the area of STEM, crisis management and CSR.
In turn, the Santander Group undertook to invest EUR 400 million in education, employment and entrepreneurship in 2023-2026, creating the Open Academy platform in cooperation with prestigious universities.
Changes are needed in education systems
The traditional education system cannot keep up with reality. According to the “White Book” data prepared by Coventry University Wrocław, the Polish education system is still focusing mainly on theoretical knowledge, ignoring practical preparation for work. The recommendations of the authors of the report include Tax relief for companies supporting the development of competence, digital certificates confirming the completion of specific modules instead of entire fields (micro -experience) and the involvement of employers in the design of curricula.
Implementation education – a model combining learning with practice becomes an alternative. In Germany, it functions as a “dual system”, in which students of vocational schools and technicians combine learning with work with a specific employer, e.g. in companies such as Siemens or Bosch. The so -called “Degree apprenticeships”, allowing you to win the title of engineer or bachelor's degree during practical study at work. In this system, the employer may deduct from CIT some expenditure on implementation education.
The point is for students to acquire practical skills that will actually be useful at work, and companies have an impact on what the education process looks like. This is important because, as experts emphasize, in the Global Innovation Index 2022 ranking in terms of cooperation between universities and enterprises in the field of research and development, Poland is only 94th.
School of the future: MEN is preparing the reform of the education system
The public sector is also waiting for the long -term transformation. The Ministry of National Education announces the reform of the education system under the slogan “Reforma26”.
According to the data of the Ministry of National Education, as much as 58 percent Polish fifteen -year -olds believe that the school did little to prepare them for adult life. The new approach is to emphasize the development of agency, co -responsibility for their own development and well -being of students. According to the ministry, the school's goal should not only be to transfer knowledge, but to build agency and competence to learn throughout life.
The project scheduled for 2025–2032 assumes a gradual introduction of changes. New items, such as civic and health education, will appear, the core curricula will change, and the formula of the exams in the next perspective. There are also plans for a design week, which is to enable students to work on real problems and teach their cooperation, as well as to introduce specific paths of development and mentoring support in older classes.
Pact for skills and microcertifications
The European Union focuses on short forms of science tailored to the market. By 2030 at least 60 percent Adults are to participate in training and development courses every year. The European Commission is developing a pact for skills, individual training accounts and a model of micro -experience.
Experts emphasize that it will be crucial to develop the joint responsibility of three sectors: the state, business and educational institutions. The development of competences cannot be based solely on the good will of individuals or, even more so on their financial capacity.
Permanent mechanisms are needed that will provide access to qualitative courses, enable development in the workplace and encourage companies to invest in employees' competences. In countries that treat this topic priority, lower staff rotation, higher productivity and better economic results during crisis periods are observed.
