Vocational training at the workplace

What is it?

It is a labour market instrument directed at the unemployed and some individuals of those seeking employment. Its aim is to enable you to broaden your knowledge and gain new qualifications and skills certified by the documents issued at the end of the training which – in consequence – will increase your chances on the labour market. During the training you will be provided with both technical and practical knowledge vital for performing a given occupation.

Vocational training for adults is conductedd through concluding an contract between the district labour office and the employer or between district labour office, the employer and a training institution.

There are two types of vocational training for adults:

• vocational training –  a type of training that enables a person to obtain a certificate proving his/her qualifications in a given profession or in the case of people with basic vocational education, secondary vocational education or passed external examination on requirements defined in the basic general curriculum for a basic vocational school or a diploma confirming vocational qualifications after passing examinations embracing all the qualifications required to work in a given occupations or ,
• job-specific apprenticeship - a type of training that enables a person to obtain chosen skills or vocational qualifications confirmed with a certificate.

How long may a vocational training for adults last?

Vocational training may last from 6 up to 18 months, whereas a job-specific apprenticeship may last from 3 up to 6 months.

Vocational training for adults may be carried out for 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day and cannot be conducted on Sundays, holidays and at night time.

How to organise vocational training for adults?

You should submit an application form to a district labour office. The district labour office will inform you whether the application is accepted or rejected within the period of 30 calendar of submitting it. The rejection should always be justified.

If your application is accepted, you conclude a contract with the district labour office where the vocational training programme and other necessary information are included.

The contract also specifies:

• names of the unemployed people assigned to carry out the training,
• the vocational training programme,
• questionnaires for evaluation of the training.

If you want to receive reimbursement of the costs borne on the vocational training for adults, you should submit the application to your district labour office. Certified copies of the documents substantiating the costs borne on the training need to be attached to the application as well.

Why is it worth applying for?

• You may receive reimbursement of the costs borne on the every participant of the training in the amount defined in the contract, yet up to 2% of an average remuneration (check the current rates). It may cover the costs of materials, operation of machinery and equipment, regenerative meals and other means essential for the programme realization.
• On the basis of a concluded contract, the district labour office grants the employer a one-off bonus (check the current rates) for every complete month of the training for every person who completes the vocational training for adults and passes the exam qualifying for professional or journeyman title.

Your obligations:

As an employer you are obliged to

• assign a mentor to a training participant,
• upon request of a participant give him/her two days off for every 30 calendar days of carried out training,
• provide the district labour office with a monthly participants attendance list within first 5 days of the following month,
• enable the district labour office to supervise implementation of the programme,
• provide participants with a certificate confirming completion of the training and provide the district labour office with a copy of the certificate within 7 days of completion of the vocational training for adults,
• keep a record of the granted aid for the period of at least 10 years.

A written request for a one-off bonus may be filed within three months after the day a participant has passed the exam. You also need to attach the copy of a diploma or other document that would certify that the person has passed examination.

Along with the application for reimbursement of costs borne on implementation of vocational training for adults and for the one-off bonus (two separate applications!), you submit  such documents as a:

• list of participants of the vocational training for adults programme including their names, surnames, places and dates of birth,
• list of attendance periods and forms of vocational training for adults,
• list of costs borne on vocational training participants and the amount of reimbursement,
• the employer’s account number into which the reimbursement should be transferred.

The district governor will transfer the refund into the indicated account within the dates specified in the contract.

Legal basis
Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions (Article 2 par.1 points 27a, 29a, 29b and Articles 53a-m)

Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 11 April 2014 on vocational training for adults

Development: Editorial team of Zielona Linia