On 15th July the world will celebrate the Youth Skills Day, set by the United Nations to highlight the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.

For the occasion, we sat down with Marzena Strzelczak, newly elected Board Member of CSR Europe and President of Responsible Business Forum, to address the challenge posed by reskilling and upskilling the Polish workforce also in light of the turmoil brought about by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

How are Polish enterprises reskilling and upskilling their workforce amidst Europe’s transition towards carbon neutrality by 2050?

Europe’s green transformation will undoubtedly result in an increased need to reskill and upskill companies’ workforce in the coming years, as Poland shifts way from coal – which is used to generate approximately 72% of electricity in the country – to renewable energies. According to the latest estimates, the total employment in the Polish industry may raise by 450 thousand from 2025-2030 due to increased demand for electrical equipment, machines and devices, construction and construction works, forestry products, and agricultural products. For the period 2035-2040, the number of new jobs will amount to approximately 250 thousand, and after 2040, 150 thousand.

In an effort to decarbonise their processes and operations, Polish enterprises are focusing their investments on electrification, clean hydrogen, Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), circular economy, and nuclear energy. Unfortunately, although many companies have planned technological shifts and announced climate goals as part of their sustainability strategies, it is difficult to find reskilling/upskilling programs in these documents.

Positive examples of systemic upskilling plans can be found under the Territorial Just Transition Plans, which cover the sectors most affected by the transition towards net zero, like hard coal and lignite mining. In other cases, companies opted for outplacement programmes. For instance, the ZE PAK Capital Group, owners of the mines in the region of Eastern Wielkopolska, launched an outplacement pilot program to help employees find new employment. In the pilot, the program covered approximately 100 employees of the Group's mining companies. Today, it is targeting approximately 1,500 employees, and some of them have already undergone training and obtained the qualification to become photovoltaic installers.

Sustainable finance will play a key role in accelerating decarbonisation efforts in the country as well as companies’ adoption of upskilling and reskilling plans.

What are the biggest challenges that companies are facing to ensure an inclusive workforce transformation? 

According to the research we have conducted in the framework of the project “Upskill 4 Future”, the challenges faced by companies depend on and are above all connected with their size. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.8% of all businesses in Poland and a significant part is constantly struggling to survive. This situation negatively affects their opportunities for investment and innovation, limiting their ability to undertake upskilling and reskilling initiatives. Another barrier is posed by the lack of knowledge and information regarding reskilling/upskilling strategies and an excessively high risk of failure of the planned activities. According to the latest research of the Polish HR Forum, only 21% of small and medium-sized enterprises and 29% of large enterprises have diagnosed what competences will be needed in the next 2 years. The inaction is surprising given the increasing deficit between employees’ skills and the skills needed by the industry. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to speed up some processes related to workforce transformation, but also prompted many companies, especially in retail, to shift their focus from upskilling and reskilling to keeping  employees safe.

The success of upskilling and reskilling initiatives also depends on the interest of employees in taking part in them. Good communication and training, showing the advantages of upskilling, contributes to overcome stereotypes and (self) bias, especially when it comes to initiatives for vulnerable groups of employees. They should feel that upskilling is an opportunity to do something that can be useful and interesting for their careers, not like they need help because they are members of the “weaker” group. It needs a really inclusive approach which is not an easy task, as we all know, to understand equity vs equality and make it right.

In conclusion, SMEs needs the most support, and hopefully the outcome of the Upskill 4 Future project, like the SMEs toolkit and best practices booklet, will contribute to inspire and support employers in the implementation of upskilling and reskilling strategies.

As a result of the war in Ukraine Poland has welcomed many refugees. What was the impact of this humanitarian crisis on the national job market?

 Over 2.5 million Ukrainians fled their country and went to Poland as a result of the war. Most of them were women, elderly, and children. In response, the Polish government passed a dedicated law on the 12th of March that gave people arriving in Poland no earlier than 24th February 2022 the right to stay legally in the country for 18 months. The law also gave them the right to get the Universal Electronic Population Registration System (PESEL) number needed to access employment, education, health care, and financial support.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, 132,000 people started working in Poland as of May 13th. The Ministry of the Interior also confirmed that, as of May 9th, the PESEL number was issued to 489,000 refugees of working age - i.e., between the ages of 18 and 65. In other words, more than 1 out 4 refugees have taken a job in Poland.

Refugees found work mainly in occupations that do not require high qualifications, becoming drivers and cashiers. Others, like doctors, beauticians, and hairdressers applied for the same profession in Poland. At the same time, Ukrainian men employed in Poland returned to their homeland to fight. Before the war, about 1.3 million Ukrainians worked in Poland, mainly in construction, transport, and logistics. Today, the shortage of these employees is compromising companies’ activities, forcing them to reduce their orders and offer higher salaries. As many professions are missing in the Polish labour market, the increasing number of foreigners employed did not translate into less work available for Poles.  

RBF PL has been the coordinator of the Polish Diversity Charter since 2012. How has the approach of Polish companies to inclusion changed over the course of the years?

Diversity management is becoming an important part of business strategies, and not just for big companies. SMEs, higher education institutions, and even local governments, like the ones in Warsaw and Krakow, have joined the Polish Diversity Charter. They are all looking for tools to measure their performance and improve D&I processes and strategies. This is why the Polish Diversity Charter created the #DiversityINCheck survey, a comprehensive tool to diagnose the maturity of organisations in managing diversity and building inclusive workplace.

So, we are quite optimistic when it comes to the D&I developments in Poland. We do believe that although the political climate in Poland does not support many fundamental rights, employers will continue to work towards more inclusive workplaces and society. Afterall, who did know in 1989 what that year would bring to the world?

CSR Voice is the new blog series dedicated to exploring key global sustainability issues locally, together with CSR Europe’s National Partner Organisations.

For more information:

Hana Kreso,

Project Manager

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