Debate
The IQS Stakeholder Council debate
On March 28, 2017. the fourth consultation and information meeting for IQS stakeholders was held. The group of representatives of, among others, workers' organizations, employers associations (including industries), central administration, institutions involved in non-formal education, IQS Stakeholder Council and the directors and employees of the Educational Research Institute (IBE) talked about monitoring the implementation of IQS.
The IQS Stakeholder Council
Minister of National Education, Anna Zalewska, appointed the IQS Stakeholder Council which consists of representatives of socio-economic organizations, local government, the Program Council for Competences and the Ministry of National Education.
The tasks of the Council include:
- monitoring the functioning of the IQS,
- giving opinions on directions of changes in the area of IQS and
- exchanging experience in the field of qualifications.
Validate your skills after turning 50
When we turn 50, we have a lot of experience and skills, but it is harder to navigate the job market. For people to keep pace and consolidate their position, they have to validate these informally acquired competences. And know what skills to improve. There is already a way to do this.
The Economic Foundation in partnership with COMBIDATA Poland Sp. z o.o. and NSZZ “Solidarity” for the Gdansk Region have been working on “Business Academy 50+ project – an innovative model to validate and supplement the professional competences of people 50+”. The project focuses on sales representatives, however, its outcomes can also be used for other professions and age groups after developing a methodology for a given sector.
Validation involves comparing the knowledge and skills that a person has to those required to get formal confirmation of the achievement of certain standards. The model allows for competences to be accumulated/supplemented and enables validation of the existing ones, including the recognition of those acquired outside of formal education. So far, the validation of professional competences acquired through non-formal (training courses) and informal (self-education, experience gained during work) education was virtually impossible. The selection of courses is huge, but the offer is very expensive. Employers and employees, however, are not always able to identify their real training needs. In contrast, formal education does not always correspond precisely to the needs of the labour market. It offers too little in terms of practical skills and training in soft skills.
Transparent qualifications, opportunities in the labour market
Since February 16, 2011, the public has been debating on a model of the Polish Qualifications Framework, organised as a part of the European-style Qualifications Project. The PQF is being developed with the joint involvement of academicians, employers, employees and teachers.The Polish Qualifications Framework introduces a new way of describing and validating qualifications, which are achieved at various levels of education and learning, through the use of many pathways of acquiring knowledge, both informal as well as non-formal. These changes will impact everyone – persons who issue diplomas validating a qualification or those who achieve a qualification, persons who assess someone’s competences or those who order training workshops, persons who train or those who learn, persons who are searching for a specific type of worker or those who are planning their professional development.
Public debate – work in thematic groups
Since the beginning of 2011, the public has been debating about the Polish Qualifications Framework, on such issues as the requirements of each of its levels, how the PQF can support lifelong learning, the validation model, and how qualifications should be described. A report on what has been occurring in the debate from February to June 2011 is available on the project’s website, as are summaries of each debate meeting.
