P-TECH: Radom joins the programme

Radom is the next city to join the innovative P-TECH educational program initiated by IBM. The program is implemented under the patronage of the Educational Research Institute.

Radom is the next participant of the program

The Bohaterów Westerplatte Electronics School Complex in Radom joined the international P-TECH educational and professional development program, launched in Poland in 2019 at the initiative of IBM. This became possible thanks to a cooperation agreement that was ceremoniously signed on October 14 by the program's partners, representatives of: the Municipality of Radom, the Educational Research Institute, and a coalition of local companies: Artex IT, Humansoft, IMD Pawelec Marcin, Masterdev, MRSolutions, Radwag Electronic Scales.

The agreement with P-TECH was signed on National Education Day, a day which emphasises the leading role of teachers in providing top quality education. The involvement of all partners, including the staff of the Electronics School Complex in Radom, enables students - future graduates - to have a better start in adulthood. We are convinced that the combination of vocational education with practice facilitates entry into the labour market and the ability to adapt more quickly to changing conditions in professional life. Graduates who enter the labour market after graduation with confirmed qualifications in programming, which is possible thanks to the Integrated Qualifications System implemented by IBE, will have a chance to secure attractive employment in areas sought after by IT companies

Robert T. Ptaszek, Director of the Educational Research Institute.

The P-TECH program

The main aim of P-TECH is to support local communities by adequately preparing young people to work in STEM professions, regardless of the industry, in accordance with the needs of the 21st century labour market. As a multi-stakeholder education initiative, the P-TECH program provides support for young people to develop scientific, technical, workforce and career skills. It is an example of the best use of a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership where students in vocational and general education can also develop in a professional environment.

As part of P-TECH, students will, among other things, follow the daily work of their mentor (job shadowing), get an inside look at a real business environment, and participate in lectures and work placements. P-TECH does not require changes to the core curriculum.

Companies and partner institutions, in cooperation with the school's teaching staff, provide additional input or tools to existing subjects and classes to equip students with the specific skills needed in the labour market. Students participating in the P-TECH program will receive a secondary school diploma at Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) level 4 and, in addition, after meeting the requirements set for the Programming Technician qualification, will receive a certificate confirming possession of this qualification, which is at PQF level 5.

Polish schools in the P-TECH program

P-TECH was co-founded by IBM in the United States. The first school joined the program in 2011 in Brooklyn as part of a collaboration between the New York City Department of Education, City University of New York and IBM. Since then, P-TECH has been implemented in hundreds of schools in dozens of countries. Today, the program brings together hundreds of partner companies and universities. In Poland, IBM is also an Industry Partner of many of these initiatives.

Radom Vocational Secondary School is the seventh school in Poland where P-TECH classes will be conducted. So far, the program has been joined by the Bartłomiej Nowodworski General Secondary School No. 1 in Kraków, the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Vocational School Complex in Rzeszów, the Vocational and General Secondary School Complex No. 2 and the Silesian Technical Research Institutes – both in Katowice, Vocational School No. 1 – the “School on Forest Street” in Wronki and the Polytechnic School Complex in Łódź.