International Opportunities Factory

Masovian Voivodeship is not a province with high unemployment rate (11,6%), since what is taking place there is a statistical distortion of its own kind. This is because the Capital City of Warsaw generates the country's lowest unemployment rate (4,8%), whereas the counties (poviats) adjacent to the capital city are regions oftentimes characterised by the highest unemployment rate (e.g. Radom County ca. 29,7%). Hence the great need for intervention in the areas beyond the capital city of Warsaw.
The group that is the most threatened with unemployment and professional inactivity are persons without professional qualifications and with education lower than secondary. The abovementioned situation is the result of the following:
– current education system – schools turn out alumni equipped with theory and not practical skills confirmed by proper certificates;
– qualifications become outdated and there is the inability to adjust them to the current labour market;
– limited possibilities of acquiring qualifications in the form of trainings;
– very low occupational activity of the unemployed persons dictated by the lack of skills in operating in the labour market (no upgrade of skills) as well as the lack of adequate professional career planning;
– lack of comprehensive support procedures for the unemployed persons in Poland, e.g. Job Coaching in the form of preparation of the unemployed to take up employment.
Another challenge that we would like to particularly address is the lack of the so-called soft skills in older people. The lag behind in development of the Polish society in relation to the countries of the Western Europe is significant. The democratic system was introduced in Poland only 25 years ago. People, whose knowledge and experience were mainly shaped in the past system, exhibit express lack of skills described as the soft ones: the skill of self-presentation, selecting clothing adjusted to the situation, communication skills, the ability to assess the situation empathically, the knowledge of savoir-vivre, etc.
Thus, a meaningful intervention requires a comprehensive approach. Only by including all the abovementioned problems will the expected, tangible outcomes be achieved.