European Social Fund in Poland: Best Practices - Europejski ...

Paulina Łojko,
absolwentka szkolenia
zawodowego:
Szkolenie zmobilizowało mnie
do dalszej nauki – mam zamiar
zdobyć tytuł technika
fryzjerskiego
Paulina Łojko,
occupational training
graduate:
“The training motivated me
to continue learning.
I am going to become
a qualified hairdresser
» as unemployed. Farming sector employees from rural area cities with a population of less than 20,000 have
so far taken part in the project.
The project has been received with tremendous interest by rural communities since the very beginning.
This has led to a considerable rise in the number of participants: 268 people have been trained in 22 occupations
instead of the originally predicted 116 people in 18 professions.
It is the project’s comprehensiveness that has made it so attractive. Each training programme comprises three
main phases. A 5-day incentive session is the initial stage, attended by psychologists whose job it is to assist
people in discovering their own entrepreneurial skills and in developing self-esteem, assertiveness and selfassessment
capabilities. The second phase covers a total of 22 professional training sessions, including the following:
beauty therapy and nail care, hairdressing and make-up, massage and natural medicine, social work,
life saving skills and first aid, sales, office work, computer aided accounting, garden design, farm management
(complete with IT abilities and cash till operation). This selection of topics has been adapted to demand
in the local labour market. The graduates who pass the final exams receive certificates and confirmation of course
completion. In the third stage the participants attend a 2-hour career advice and job centre session. The objective
of the last phase is to provide the unemployed with skills and tools to attend job interviews and look for jobs
successfully.
In addition to the reimbursement of travel costs to all participants, each person who attends the course also
receives a child care allowance, a training allowance, free insurance, accommodation, training materials,
including a booklet, a coursebook, a folder, notebook and pen, occupational training disposables, and free Internet
access. As president Gorczyc says: “Just one penny may be the motivation for these people to take up
the challenge.” ◗
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