The participants were introduced to the results of studies concerning demand for employees, occupations, and qualifications. Moreover, the meeting provided an opportunity to recapitulate the five years of operation of the Labour Market and Education Observatory of Małopolska.
The conference was divided into three thematic blocks:
In the first part, the activity of the Labour Market and Education Observatory of Małopolska was presented in the context of the information needs of the authorities of the Małopolska Region and the Regional Labour Office in Kraków. Participants of the panel – leaders of institutions important for the development of education in the labour market – demonstrated their experience concerning the use of results of studies for decision making.
In the second part, the speakers presented the results of the Survey of Małopolska employers to assess demand for employees, and of the structure of competencies in the Polish labour market conducted as part of the Study of Human Capital in Poland (Bilans Kapitału Ludzkiego) project. The participants of the conference learned, among other things, what employees were most sought after in the labour market in 2010, in what occupations employers found recruiting difficult and why, and what potential is at the disposal of training businesses. The complementation of the study results were the opinions of representatives of training institutions, employment agencies, and employers presented during the panel.
At the end, the participants were made familiar with the methods of forecasting demand for occupations and qualifications used in Finland and the Czech Republic. Among the topics discussed by the panel were the pros and cons of using quantitative and qualitative methods in surveying the competencies of the employers, potential for international collaboration in the field, and potential for comparing the data.
The panellists included Krzysztof Grzegorz Strzałkowski – Deputy Marshal of Mazowieckie Region, Joanna Urbanowicz – Deputy Director of the Regional Policy Department of the Office of the Marshal of Małopolska Region, Stanisława Skwarło – Director of the Sącz Labour Office, Professor Jarosław Górniak (Jagiellonian University), Marek Piwowarczyk – Chairman of Małopolska Regional Employment Board, Krzysztof Jakóbik – Director of the Statistical Office in Kraków, Wanda Brześcińska – Deputy Director of the Division of Teacher Supervision and Education Development at the Regional Education Authority in Kraków, and also representatives of county (poviat) councils, local labour offices, career centres, employment agencies, and Małopolska employers. Moreover, experiences were shared by international guests: Jouni Marttinen – Senior Consultant in the Team for Employment, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Culture of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Southwest Finland, Timo Ronkainen – Administrative Director of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Ostrobothnia in Finland, and Marta Salavova – analyst of the National Observatory of Employment and Training in the Czech Republic.
Presentations of the international guests are available here:
You can also check selected results of the studies conducted by the Observatory, as well as main accomplishments of the project.
