In February 2021, the Minister of Education and Science announced the third forecast of the demand for employees in the national and regional labour markets for the professions taught in vocational education.

The purpose of the forecast is to indicate the directions in which the VET offer in vocational schools should be developed in relation to the needs of the national and regional labour markets. The forecast is divided into three parts – general conditions of financing, national and regional, and the high and moderate demands for workers in specific occupations.

The national forecast contains an alphabetical list of 28 professions for which high demand is expected due to their importance to national development. The forecast aims to support and expand the offer of the VET occupations taught in Poland. The list includes professions in the fields of automation, electromechanics, electronics, railways and mechatronics, as well as roofer, electrician, mechanics driver, mechanics assembler of machines and devices.

As part of the amended provisions of the School Educational Act, local governments will receive an increased education subsidy for VET schools teaching those professions that are forecast to be especially sought after in the Polish labour market.

The forecast was prepared on the basis of an analytical model and data collected by the Educational Research Institute using various quantitative and qualitative data. The opinions of Sector Skills Councils, the Competence Programme Council, as well as the relevant ministers overseeing specific professions also played an important role.

The forecast is available here (information only in Polish)