Minister of Science on student practices: let's fill the law with content
There are many legal solutions that will help to better adapt the student to the labour market, but we need to fill them with content - told PAP Minister of Science and Higher Education, who participated in the High Quality Student Training Round Table.
Representatives of the ministries of science and labour, employers, students, and representatives of universities debated in Warsaw on improving the quality of student placements.
"There is a big gap between the skills of students who leave the university walls and employers. Employers say they have vacancies, but they need students with specific skills" - said in an interview with PAP Minister of Science and Higher Education Lena Kolarska-Bobińska. She admitted that her ministry wants to bridge these gaps and to better adapt the skills of students to their future work, but also the labour market to absorb the students.
Head of the Ministry of Science reminded that law is already being created that makes it easier to offer placements and brings students and universities closer to companies. She mentioned that it includes the possibility of contributing to programs of study by companies, the creation of university councils, in which entrepreneurs may also be represented. Universities also may offer dual studies, which combine lectures and apprenticeships. In addition, universities are required to organize at least 3-month placements for students in all courses with a practical profile.
"We have many legal solutions that will help to better adapt the student to the labour market and the labour market to the student" - said the Minister, and noted that in addition programs are carried out such as the Government Competency Development Programme (inclusion of soft skills development in the programs of study - PAP). "Now we need to fill all of this with content" - added the Minister.
She admitted that large companies tend to have developed internship programs and practices. "But it is more important to develop good practices in small and medium-sized enterprises, because these are the majority in Poland" - said the minister and expressed the hope that the debate will convince large companies to mentor smaller companies with regard to the organization of quality student placements.
During the debate, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Małgorzata Marcińska cited research which shows the demand on the labour market for people with transferable competencies, i.e. those that are needed for various positions. "This includes initiative, ability to learn, honesty, concern for quality, communication skills, knowledge of foreign languages" - said Deputy Minister and admitted that these skills can be developed in schools and colleges. In the opinion of employers - as resulted from the study - in the case of young people who start working for companies, however, these skills are not sufficiently developed.
The meeting participants also discussed who should take responsibility for the internships and decide on their program: university or employer, government or perhaps students themselves.
The President of the Students' Parliament Piotr Mueller admitted that students, universities and employers avoid taking responsibility for practices. According to Mueller, students sometimes treat the practices as another entry in the transcript, and want to get them over with as soon as possible. Universities, in turn, do not care about organizing very good practices, because they do not have any benefits from them and are not accounted for these practices. And employers do not want to take interns, because it generates costs. According to Mueller, tax relief for small and medium-sized businesses for the organization practices would be beneficial.
Grzegorz Baczewski of Confederation Leviathan also referred to the fact that universities take little responsibility for organizing practices. In his view, a step in the right direction are the provisions concerning the evaluation of the careers of graduates of Polish universities.
Dr. Janusz Poła of the State Higher Vocational School in Leszno argued that schools should use the opportunity to offer dual studies. He pointed out that two such courses are offered by his school. Students are employed in private companies on a part-time basis - sometimes it's half-time, and sometimes one third - and the work time is counted as practices. Employers are already interested in this system, and they have started sending their employees for studies. In addition, as he noted, more than 20 companies from the region are represented on the board, which may influence the course of dual studies.
