The perspective of data resources, citizens and systemic solutions – these were the three thematic areas forming the basis for discussions about skills during the conference, which brought together experts from education, the labour market and digitalisation. The focus was on people – their development and related needs.
The conference “A Look into the Future! On qualifications and skills in the context of education, work and digitalisation” organised by the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute was met with great interest. The room at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, a partner of the event, accommodated 140 participants, but over 1000 people viewed the event thanks to the online broadcast.
The conference was opened by representatives of key institutions: Monika Sikora, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, Tomasz Kulasa, Director of the Department of Innovation and Development at the Ministry of National Education, and Dr. Maciej Jakubowski, Director of the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute.
The conference is an excellent opportunity to discuss the state of skills and qualifications in Poland and how we can effectively develop these skills at the strategic, national, institutional and individual levels.
Director Jakubowski pointed out that the Qualifications Register is almost 10 years old and therefore this is a good time to talk about its future and share experiences with other institutions on collecting and sharing data on skills and qualifications:
The Educational Research Institute operates the Qualifications Register. This register is almost 10 years old. There are almost 20,000 qualifications in the register, but there is still enormous potential.
It is important for people of all ages to have easy access to information about the current educational offer: formal and non-formal, about the possibilities of confirming the results of informal learning.
The conference was an opportunity to discuss various digital tools supporting educational and professional choices at different stages of life – their functionalities and how they can be tailored to the needs of users. The Integrated Qualifications Register is one of them. Agnieszka Marszałek, project leader of “Operating and developing the Integrated Qualifications Register as a tool to support lifelong learning (IQR3)”, spoke about the register and the role of learning outcomes in describing qualifications:
Learning outcomes are a common language for these different worlds: education, the labour market, and digitalisation. Curricula, degree programmes, qualifications, professions, job requirements, and training courses are increasingly described with the use of learning outcomes. This allows these worlds to see and understand each other. And, of course, there’s the register, which is the one place that contains the country’s offer of qualifications described by learning outcomes.
The event was also an opportunity for discussions with representatives of various institutions, such as: Central Examination Board, IBE PIB, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy, National Information Processing Institute – National Research Institute, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
Key findings
- The priority of all institutions that design and provide various digital tools to support the planning of learning should be their ease of use – easy access to useful information to facilitate educational and career decision-making. It is important to focus on the needs of people of different ages: pupils, students, people who are looking for a place for themselves in the labour market, in a new profession, in a new job. This is why it is so important to integrate data, standardize its format, and – as Zbigniew Brzeziński from the Sector Skills Council for the Marketing Communications Sector pointed out – present the information in an appropriate visual form.
- The work of those who perform career counselling tasks is constantly gaining in importance. The more integrated the various data are, the more confident teachers, parents and counsellors can be in accompanying their charges in making informed educational and professional choices (informed, but not necessarily for life). It is also important that the developed digital tools allow all stages of an advisor’s work with a client to be addressed: from diagnosing predispositions, through the skills audit and organising collected achievements, to indicating possible paths of further learning, professional development and the most suitable qualifications.
- Initiatives supporting lifelong learning are currently scattered in Poland. It is worth strengthening the coordination of activities of various institutions working in this area. This is the only way individual solutions will effectively meet the needs of the people for whom they are developed. This is the only way to increase the involvement of adult Poles in learning and competence development and see it reflected in the statistics.
In her speech, Anna Nikowska, ministerial advisor at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, pointed out that:
We have many building blocks, we have many elements in the whole system. [...] We have some really fine and proven solutions. We are far ahead of some countries in Europe, but it seems to me that we still lack a host for this area [lifelong learning – ed. IBE PIB]. So here is a big appeal to all of us sitting here, to think about how we can develop this, but also to influence our bosses and decision-makers.
Cooperation between different institutions is essential for improving individual digital tools so that they best meet the needs of users: Poles of all ages who want to feel increasingly confident about their educational and career choices. IBE PIB, as the entity operating the national Qualifications Register, is ready to take on this challenge!
Conference materials can be found on the IQS portal.
The honorary partners of the event were:
The conference was organised by the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute as part of the project “Operating and developing the Integrated Qualifications Register as a tool supporting lifelong learning (IQS3)”, FERS.01.08-IP.05-0003/23.
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labor market Integrated Qualifications Register Skills digitalisation