Narodowe Centrum Zasobów Poradnictwa Zawodowego

The first activities aimed at the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance (Narodowe Centrum Zasobów Poradnictwa Zawodowego) in Poland (NRCVG) were initiated in 1998 by the contemporary National Labour Office (NLO). The NRCVG should serve all target groups in education and in labour sector, that is both young persons and adults. For this reason it is usually organised in co-operation between sectors of education and of labour – responsible for vocational guidance services for both target groups. For this reason an appropriate co-operation agreement has been signed also in Poland. It was an Agreement between the National Labour Office and the Ministry of National Education on the co-operation in development of European dimension of education and vocational training in Poland, as well as on the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance. The NRCVG in Poland was established in virtue of this Agreement.

The Agreement sets out the general principles of the co-operation between the partners. It also provides that the National Labour Office shall submit to the European Commission, on behalf of both sectors, a joint application for grant for implementation of the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance tasks. In 1999 Poland joined the NRCVG project.

The Statute Settlements of the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance have been drafted, where functions and tasks of the Centre have been specified, as well as the structural links between institutions included to carry out the tasks of the Centre have been determined. On this basis two NRCVG units have been created: one in the labour sector and another in the education sector. The National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance unit in the labour sector has been situated in the National Labour Office. Due to NLO liquidation since 1 April 2002, all its tasks and liabilities have been taken over by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MOLASP). They also included activities implemented within the framework of Leonardo da Vinci programme. In effect, NRCVG unit is presently placed in the Vocational Counselling Division of the MOLASP Department of Labour Market Policy.

The National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance in Poland implements objectives and exercises tasks recommended in the Leonardo da Vinci programme. At the same time it serves as a platform for implementation of tasks in the field of vocational guidance development at the national level adopted in the National Strategy of Employment Growth and Human Resources Development. It mainly concerns integration of vocational guidance for adults and youth, permanent development of methods and information materials as well as improvement of the system of vocational counsellors’ education and training.

OBJECTIVES

A. General objectives

to provide access to quality information to relevant target groups on:

• training and educational opportunities
• pathways to occupations and careers
• the legal framework for mobility
• the community initiatives and programmes in EU and EEA Member States and PAC States
• to support the exchange of quality information on:
• training and education in the EU, EEA and PAC States
• vocational and educational guidance systems in the EU, EEA and PAC States
• relevant actors responsible for transferability of qualifications
• to support the development of the European dimension in the national systems of educational and vocational guidance 
• to co-operate with guidance services in the different European countries in terms of working methods and dissemination of innovative practices

B. Specific objectives

• to co-operate in the field of vocational education and training (co-operation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of National Education and Sport)
• to collect and disseminate information on education and training opportunities in our own country and in the member states of the NRCVG network to relevant target groups
• to support information concerning transnational mobility possibilities 
• to organise and develop training courses for vocational guidance officers in educational sector and labour offices
• to prepare publications for dissemination
• to co-operate in the transnational network of the NRCVG 
• to participate in conferences concerning vocational counselling and guidance
• to participate in Leonardo da Vinci pilot projects

WORKING METHODS AND MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTRE

Methods

To implement the tasks of the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance, the following methods have been employed:

• Networking at national and transnational level
• Pilot Projects
• Visits/Exchanges 
• the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance network meetings
• Information giving
• Attending career exhibitions
• Training, workshops 
• Counselling 
• Evaluation 

Management

The NRCVG unit at the labour sector is located in the Vocational Counselling Division of the MOLASP Department for Labour Market Policy.

The unit is directly managed by the Head of the Division, while the Deputy Director of the Department exercises control over it and responsibility for financial decisions. The working unit is formed by four persons - employees of the Division. One of them performs a function of the co-ordinator. Among local institutions that the NRCVG co-operates with the following should be first of all mentioned: Centres for Vocational Information and Career Planning (CFVIACP), labour offices, and career offices at higher schools (tertiary education institutions).