Communication with enterprises / employers

1. Communicationwith enterprises / employers Presentation by Deinde Ltd, Poland Anna Jesionek This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publicationreflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

2. Plan of presentation • Situationin Poland • Ourexperience • Othercountriesexperience • Example of study (map of keycompetences) • How to convince enterprises – goodarguments

3. Polishcase • Theme of basicskillsneglected • Trainings (not vocational) up to workers, not employers • Employers (mainly SE in PL) not interested • No moneyfor trainingincompanies • Managersnot awareof theiremployees’ lack of competences • Ifemployersseetheneed, theycomplainaboutthequality of traininginstituions (no goodofferscorresponding to realtrainingneeds)

4. Workersaged 25-65 participatingintrainings (%)

5. „Employers’ needs.WANTED on thelabour market.” • Panel discussion heldin Warsaw in 2011 duringthe conference of governmentPolishAgency of Enterprise Development (PARP) presenting first results of research „Study of Human Capital in Poland” • Problem on thelineuniversity – labour market/enterprises (universitiesdon’teducatepeople; employershave to getinvolvedincooperationwitheducational system) • „Duringrecruitmentprocess we meet adultswho are not able to respond toquestion ‘What is important in my life’, can not saywhat are their strengths, can not competentlypresent their strongpoints.”

6. „Employers’ needs.WANTED on thelabour market.” ctd. • Whatare the requirements of employers in joboffers? • Most often vocationalcompetence. • Competencesof self-organizingskillalsopointed.(good time management, precision). • Interpersonalcompetence (relationswithco-workers, clients). • Computer skills. • V. rarely – mathematiccompetence. • Idea of basicskills not included AT ALL.

7. Whofinancestrainings? • Financed by employer (obligatory for workerduringworkdays; not duringweekends) • Co-financed by employer (withpossibleloyaltyagreement to amortizetrainingcosts) • Financed by employee • Free of charge (feefree EU trainings, like ESF) • Co-financed by thelabour dept/offices (company trainingfunds)

8. Cooperationwithlabouroffices • Company trainingfundsnot popular:(co-financingup to 50 %, ormax. averagesalary –3,600PLN, fromlabouroffices) • In 2012 (Jan-May) alllabourofficesspent 3,500 PLN to compansate for trainingcosts for companies • In 2010 - 80,000 PLN (around 80 personstrained) • Discouragingfactors: administrativework,and lack of company trainingfunds (whichmust be partlypaid by employers)

9. ESF projectsexamples • „Pomeranian Key Competences - get new skills”: • Three main areas: training of key competences, computertraining andindividualcoaching for people 45 + • Target group: workers(min. 50 % over 45); max secondary education; 216 personsintotal „Professional staff-modern company. SME development” • Vocationaltraining + keycompetencestraining (modules: foreign language, computer skills, interpersonalcommunication) • Target group: enterpreneurs and employees(SMEs)

10. Ourexperience Our and our partner ESF trainingsrelated to BASIC SKILLS (8 keycompetencesin PL), for example: • Englishlanguagecourses, incl. BE (Communicationin foreign language) • Computer trainings: MsOffice and otherprograms (Digital competence) • Interpersonalskillstrainings, incl. Communication (Learning to learn) • Interpersonalskillstrainings; activeciviccitizenship services (Social and civiccompetences) • ‘How to start upbusinnesactivity’ trainings (Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship) Target groups: • employees • unemployed, inactivepeople • peoplefromruralareas • students

11. Ourexperience ESF project with 3-day-trainingsfor adults developing their interpersonal skills;target group: employeesof enterprises having technical education degree (secondary school or university) PROBLEMS: • Employers’ unwillingnessto sendworkers for trainings • don’t want workers to be more conscious/intelligent/eloquent = claiming • problem of time (no time duringworkdays; no influence duringweekends) • general attitude – don’tseethepurpose of trainings; aresick of EU tranings; chronic(notorious) lack of time • Technical workers lack of will to upgrade interpersonal skills.

12. Othercountriesexperienceexamples • Corporateschools/universities (biggercompaniescooperatingwithuniversities, involvingineducation system) • Carrercentres (normal, online) • Career development • Careercounselling • Trainings = hiringtool

13. Map of keycompetences • Studywithin LEO Rinascimento II projectin 2011 – European Network of keycompetences • Aim: creatingand carrying out questionnaireswhichcould be helpful to do a comparative analysis of key competences in EU countries • The same tests were held in all project partner countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania, Italy and Poland. In total, around 4800 peopletook part, including 848 from Poland. • Resultshelpfulinpreparingthe EU map of keycompetences (lacks and whichareasneed to be ‘subjected to training’, strenghts to be usedinvocational and private life, )

14. Someresults • The study sought to reach out to a diverse group in terms of age, sex, education, profession. But the largest percentage of respondents (60%)wereyoung people (up to 30)  studies came surprisingly positive: • Only 3% of respondents indicated that they do not read or literature/the pressorarticles on the Internet; 69.6% do it often or always. (see research of National Library and public opinionpoll: 56% of people did not come into contact with the book; 46% of the text more than 3 pages) • 45% of respondents identified at a very high level their ability to use e-services: banking, shopping, booking tickets • 77% of respondents know a foreign language to the extent that it can freely use it in formal meetings

15. Pluses and minuses • + Closed and variedquestions • + Structured form of thequestionnaire • - The majority of people who answered questionnaires had no idea about what keycompetencesare… • - Key Competences 1 to 4 aremore easy to quantify; difficult tofind a correct question in order to be easy tounderstand by therespondents • - Although the questionnaires have reached aconsensus on by all partners, sometimes they were difficult to translate in each partner languagedue to cultureaspects, shade of meaning etc…

16. How to convince enterprises? • Providegoodarguments FOR • Tell whataretheconsequences of lack of training • Refer to thecurrent and futureeconomicsituation of a company • Underlinebenefits for a company and otheremployees(not onlythe one who will be trained) • Presentthetraining as an investment

17. Arguments FOR (enterprise) • Better (morequalified) worker = better services for company = benefit for company • Satisfiedworkermoredevoted to company • Betterworkingclimate (improvedcommunication) • Optimization of work, betteruse of time of work] • Reducedabsenteeism • Advertisement for a company • Economy/savings for a company (one workermaytraintheothers)

18. Arguments FOR (staff) • Self-development • Self-confidence • Increasedjobsatisfaction • Increasedmotivation and integration of theworkerinthe company (satisfiedworkermoredevoted to company) • Increasedtimeliness

19. Thankyou. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publicationreflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein