English
"<< Background >>The project ""Together to the Congress of Dual Education"" was implemented because of the very important issue of dual industry education for the economy, which is a prelude to permanent employment in professions that are particularly sought after on the Polish labour market. After 1989, vocational training in large industry declined in Poland, so the burden of personnel preparation fell on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. For this reason, the project was a response to the need to rebuild the vocational training system, especially in the context of a return to dual training in large-scale industrial enterprises. The project was also justified by the insufficient cooperation between employers and the education sector, which made it difficult to adapt the educational offer to the real needs of the labour market. The project was undertaken to develop a market diagnosis and recommendations for the development of dual education in Poland, involving both industry organisations, economic self-government and representatives of the education sector. These activities were necessary as there are serious staff shortages in many industries - construction, manufacturing, medical and nursing, TSL, food and catering or education.<< Objectives >>The project ‘Together to the Dual Education Congress’ identified barriers to increasing the involvement of industry organisations and economic self-government, as well as determining the preferred forms of their participation in formal vocational education for young people in first and second level vocational schools, including dual education. This objective was achieved through expert panels with the participation of representatives of industry associations and experts representing public entities. Another objective of the project was to develop recommendations on how to increase the involvement of industry organisations and economic self-government in formal vocational education. These recommendations were then sent to public institutions – ministries: the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Development and Technology, and the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. The third important objective of the project was to create a space for partnership-based discourse on the forms of involvement of employers' associations in the development of vocational education programmes and in the education process itself. This objective was achieved through the organisation of a nationwide conference, the Dual Education Congress.<< Implementation >>The project involved five main activities:- a comprehensive analysis of existing data was prepared (resulting in a 180-page publication), taking into account the state of vocational education, the role of organisations and economic self-governments, and good practices in each province;- 16 expert panels were held with a German partner, which resulted in professional partial reports containing conclusions and recommendations (result). - the next stage was the preparation of a final report (result: 100 page publication) summarising trends and regional differences, which was widely presented during the Dual Education Congress; - The next activity was the ongoing evaluation and dissemination of the project and its results through surveys of panel participants, conferences and industry organisations, which assessed the course and impact of the project, and the results contributed to further discussion and project activities. - The last activity was project management, including coordination of work, supervision of task implementation, ensuring efficient communication and monitoring of project results, and publication of its activities and results on the leader's and partner's websites, Facebook, including the Epale platform.<< Results >>The project resulted in expert panels with the participation of 16 representatives of industry associations and 16 experts from public entities. Barriers limiting the involvement of industry organisations and economic self-government in formal vocational education for young people in first and second level vocational schools, including dual education, were identified and the preferred forms of this involvement were determined. Recommendations were developed on how to increase the participation of industry organisations and economic self-government in vocational education. The recommendations were sent in the form of a report to public institutions, including the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Development and Technology, and the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. A permanent space for partnership dialogue on the participation of employers' associations in the development of vocational education programmes and in the education process itself was created. An important element were two conferences of the Dual Education Congress, which enabled the exchange of experiences, discussion of recommendations and the building of a network of cooperation between the business community and educational institutions."
