Practice makes experts

Vocational education is today strongly linked to the labor market. In order to increase the attractiveness, quality and prestige of the facilities operating in our city and, at the same time, to create conditions for vocational training reflecting everyday work in different plants, we decided to provide schools with necessary equipment and ensure that they keep up with the labor market.

We consulted the employers already at the stage of preparation of the draft application. Not only did we want them to indicate the equipment we should buy, but also to determine what competences and skills students should have so that they could easily find employment after graduation. It was also important to establish the certificates that entrepreneurs can expect from graduates of particular faculties. The consultations made it possible to direct support only to those fields of study whose graduates are in demand on the labor market.

As part of the project, in nine vocational schools in Częstochowa, we carried out renovation and adaptation works for as many as 34 classroom labs, equipping them with modern teaching equipment. And so we provided a Motor Vehicle Engineering and Construction School Complex with a passenger car adapted for system diagnostics. Students are becoming better practitioners because during the class they really check the tire pressure, compare measured values with those recommended by the manufacturer, and also use the assembly plant to repair wheels.Technical Education School Complex have been equipped with a wind turbine for a renewable energy laboratory, and a climbing wall, used by roofers and landscape architecture technicians. Technology lab in Gastronomic School in Częstochowa received a combi steamer and Technical Research Institute a modern set for teaching foreign languages.

More than 2.8 thousand students have already benefited from the modernized studios and workshops. We intend to continue to equip our facilities so that future professionals can keep up to date with new technologies and easily find satisfactory jobs.

Promoting vocational schools is an important, but also a difficult task for local governments. In our opinion, it is not so much about promoting specific schools as about working on a strong and positive image of a vocational schools graduate. Some people tend to believe that vocational school are somehow worse and intended for pupils who are not suitable for high school education. This is unfair and unjust, because vocational schools make great experts operating in sectors that almost every one of us has to deal with every day. We cannot allow the number of students to decrease, because then there will be no one to work in industry, construction and services sector. We need to keep working on making the offer of vocational schools more attractive and, above all, to educate in the dual system (theory and practice) and to train in professions which are in demand.

Taking all these factors into account, we have decided to support the city's trade schools. Students from eleven different schools have benefited from a wide range of educational and professional counselling courses and a variety of specialist courses that have expanded their existing skills. This will make them more competitive on the labor market after graduation. We also equipped selected workshops with equipment that was missing.

An important element of vocational training is cooperation with the local labor market. That is why we have organized additional internships programs for the students. They are an excellent opportunity for the young people to get to know different professions from the inside and confront their school knowledge with real life practical skills. Employers, on the other hand, have gained a real impact on the quality of education and its practical aspect. A dozen or so students were recruited immediately after completing their internships, which shows how important a dual system of education, combining theory and practice, is today.

We also thought about the teachers. Dozens of educators have taken advantage of the possibility to expand their knowledge at post-graduate studies as well as courses and training programs. Thus, the knowledge they currently provide to students is up-to-date and adapted to the requirements of the modern labor market.

Computers and computer science are my great passion. Since I was in a high school, I knew that it’s going to be my future professional career. I chose Technical High School, because they have an IT group there. I'm graduating this year. For four years I had the opportunity to learn a lot in this dynamically developing field of science. I'm thinking of IT studies, because it seems like a good choice for the future. I can see how fast the automation and digitalization of many areas of life is progressing, so it seems to me that good computer scientists will be needed on the labor market for a long time, and well paid as well.

My school not only allows me to gain theoretical knowledge, but also gives a lot of practice. They organize additional activities. Together with a group of other students I participated in the „Professional Cooperation” project, thanks to which I took several courses. It was basically a series of training courses on network technologies, organized under the patronage and in cooperation with Cisco Systems, a leading manufacturer of network equipment. It was a fantastic adventure! I've learned a lot of useful things from these classes. I had a chance to know new technologies, and by working on advanced information systems, I learned to think logically. I also found out a lot about cybersecurity. In a special course we learned both the types of malware and the principles of building and monitoring secure IT solutions. The training has confirmed my belief that I am going in a good professional direction.

If you are in a high school, like me, and you have already chosen your professional path, it is worth following your passions. Trade or technical schools allow you to specialize and gain a specific profession. Besides, in the technical school we have an additional year to learn more about everything related to our future profession. Teachers organize additional professional courses where we can work with high-end equipment. I believe that with such experience from school I have a solid foundation to be a good computer scientist in the future.