On December 13th, the County Office in Czarnków was visited by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Education, Henryk Kiepura. The meeting, aimed at discussing the challenges facing the county education, was attended by the Deputy Voivode of Wielkopolska, Jarosław Maciejewski, the starosta of Czarnków-Trzcian, Grzegorz Bogacz, and the deputy starosta, Tadeusz Teterus. The main topic of the meeting was vocational education and the constantly changing job market. The response to the lack of specialists in the market is to be Vocational Skills Centers, which are technologically advanced institutions for education, training, and testing, focused on strong specialization in a given professional field. The plans include creating 120 such centers nationwide. “Dual education is the basis of vocational education for the needs of a modern economy. We care about cooperation between local government, high schools, and local businesses. From the starosta, I know that the vocational profiles offered in the high schools of the Czarnków-Trzcian county correspond to the job market, as evidenced by the educational successes, which I congratulate the starosta and the entire Board for,” said Secretary Henryk Kiepura. “It is an honor for us to host the minister and the voivode. The Czarnków-Trzcian county is a large county with several vocational schools that need to adapt to the changing job market needs. An example is the School Complex in Czarnków, where we intend to launch a welding technician program starting from the next school year. The school is prepared, and I will be delighted to show the school and the prepared workshops to the secretary and the voivode today. This school, like our other vocational schools, stands out for its close collaboration with employers,” added starosta Grzegorz Bogacz. Statistics clearly show that students continue their education after primary school by choosing vocational schools. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in institutions that, thanks to appropriate infrastructure, will be able to educate highly qualified specialists. In order for the education system to keep up with rapidly changing technologies, it is essential for the actions of the ministry, government, and local authorities to be aligned. “The Ministry closely cooperates with local governments because it is ultimately the local governments that determine the educational directions in their vocational and technical high schools. We also have ongoing discussions with industries and employer organizations to understand the needs of the job market. This year, two new programs have started from September 1st: electromobility technician – in response to the growing market of electric cars, and municipal service technician directly related to waste management,” said the Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Education. The starosta of Czarnków-Trzcian assured of further investments in the educational infrastructure in the county. The budget has allocated funds for the further development and modernization of institutions. This, combined with the opening of courses desired in the job market, should lead to a high interest of students in schools in the county. To show the opportunities offered by institutions educating young people, the starosta, along with the guests, visited two of them: the School Complex named after Józef Noje in Czarnków and the schools run by Edukacja Lubasz in Paderewski. – Marta Burakowska – County Office in Czarnków