Professional Częstochowa

New jobs for the inhabitants of Częstochowa have been one of the priorities of the Częstochowa local government in recent years. Better Job is the one that meets expectations, gives satisfaction, a sense of security, enables development and fulfilment of ambitions. Better Job is also done by qualified and committed employees.

We want the labour market in Częstochowa to become the market of a socially sensitive employer who cares about its employee, knowing that it is his greatest capital.

Entrepreneurs from Częstochowa are aware of the necessity and importance of investments in the development of human resources.

Activities in the field of staff training cannot only take place inside the company. Entrepreneurs, already at the stage of secondary schools, look for their future employees and try to influence the profiling of their qualifications.

The cooperation between entrepreneurs and schools, both at the secondary and higher level, is the only chance to educate qualified staff and follow the real needs of the local labour market.

The task of the local government is to create a platform for agreement between these interdependent areas – education and business. That is why the Center for Better Workplaces was created and this is the idea behind the whole Better Job Now programme.

The Better Job Now program is based on three pillars of action:

• The "Fair Play" program promotes the principles of fair play on the labour market in Częstochowa: employing employees (minimum 80% of the staff) directly, under contracts that do not bypass the provisions of labour law and other initiatives within the scope of corporate social responsibility.
• Center for Better Workplaces located in the building of the City Hall of Częstochowa, at Waszyngtona 5 Street, room 112 in the Investor Assistance Center. CFBW also includes a website called "Teraz Lepsza Praca" ("Better Job Now"), enabling students of secondary schools, entrepreneurs and residents who want to change or find a job to meet in one place;
• Goal: Your Development involves many initiatives aimed at improving the qualifications of people who focus on developing their professional competences to get a better job.

As part of the Program, an Employee Rights Ombudsman was appointed, who act in agreement with CFBW.

Częstochowa is a city of well-working and honest people, work culture of Częstochowa residents is very high and industrial traditions – often cultivated from generation to generation, results in qualified employees in the scope of the heavy industry and services industries. Entrepreneurship and creativity in Częstochowa helped the city flourish during the partitions and successfully overcome political transformation. Today, SMEs and family businesses are still the power of the economy in the region and confidently cooperate with the world's largest corporations. All thanks to the quality of staff, their creativity and education.

HOW TO TALK WITH TEENAGERS

The Częstochowa local government decided to use the time of the pandemic and the time of one-of-a kind holidays to familiarize young people with the possibilities offered by the city... but this time in their area and their language. When in December the country found out what the winter break in 2021 would look like, the Investor Assistance Center in Częstochowa shot a video promoting technical schools in the city. Musicians from Częstochowa were invited to the project. One of them was Piotr "Dziker" Chrząstek, one of the pioneers and promoters of Polish hip-hop, leader of the band NEFRE, founder of the HIP HOP Elements festival, and the other one was MIKSER – a rapper from the young generation, freestyler. They are both known to the young audience and can communicate with them perfectly.

RAP AND MINECRAFT

The music video and the schools' offer with a grain of salt was just an introduction to having fun online. When young people could not take full advantage of the winter break in science and spent even more time at their computers than usual, the city offered them to co-create the urban space. The Zawodowa Częstochowa website was created, and the youth of primary and secondary schools were invited to build the educational complex of their dreams at MINECRAFT. On the website, students had to familiarize themselves with the offer of technical schools and use the acquired knowledge in their online activities.

The base project for this task was a drawing made by one of the students of the Fashion and Advertising Industry School Complex. The players had to expand and rebuild following their idea for an ideal school. The school was to be created following the principles of sustainable development and the Smart City concept, maintaining equal opportunities and access to education, as well as respect for nature.

As it happens in Częstochowa, this competition became the nucleus of a completely new idea for the development of urban space by young people... For now, still online.

PROFESSIONALS

There are still not enough professionals in the labour market. The generation gap and the stereotypical approach to vocational education result in a constant staff deficit. The city hopes that such activities will make youth aware of the value of a solid technical education. The 2020 pandemic situation helped somewhat. It showed how much technical skills are valuable and which have suffered the least from the crisis.

Author: Anna Tymoshenko

Translation: Magdalena Wytrzymała