Business today is feeling the effects of the collapse of vocational education. “We’re starting to fix it.”

First, please explain the company name.

Piotr Podgórski: The full name is Engineering Mechatronic Training Systems. We have added “Engineering Training Center” to the name, but I must clarify that we are not limited to engineers. We cover the entire technical industry with training. This is “non-normative” education, i.e. extracurricular, course and training, which enriches the competences of employees of the production sector and maintenance departments. These include industries such as: production automation, robotization, mechanics, construction, quality assessment, materials engineering, production processes based on machining, plastic processing, metal joining, heat treatment, and broadly understood mechanics. In short: we provide all the knowledge needed by mechanical services in production plants and those responsible for responding to failures, maintaining machines and keeping machines in operation.

Is this “non-standard” training a need caused by the development of technology, or rather by the imperfections of the training system, e.g. the lack of vocational schools?

Business today is feeling the effects of the collapse of vocational education. Systemically, we are slowly starting to fix it, e.g. in secondary schools, which use many funding programs, purchase modern equipment and propose new fields of study. Professions such as: automation technician, mechatronics technician, robotics technician have appeared. This is a significant change: in another 10 years, if we needed, for example, automation in our company, an engineer with a degree from a technical university would come to work. Meanwhile, beyond our western border, an automation engineer is not an engineer at all. Therefore, we are slowly making up for many years of negligence in educating specialists. I must say that today many students come to us for knowledge that was once acquired at a technical school. But new technologies also require continuous, extensive training.

Who are your students?

Most often, these are people who have little experience. Even if they have the title of engineer or automation technician, they only encounter this “real” knowledge in the production plant and on courses like ours. This leads me to the conclusion that today the training of specialists has been transferred to employers. I mean this mechanism: in the past, when choosing a school, vocational school, technical school or university, a student knew what profession he would get, and whether and where such a profession was needed. Nowadays, trends have changed: technical and higher education schools “produce” technicians or engineers, and only the employer “trains” them according to market needs.

This is where our great role is, as we guarantee the practicality and individuality of training and laboratories. Our client – the employer – is sure that the trainee spends from 30 to 50 hours at a specific workplace, under the supervision of an expert who specializes in working in a given position.

Today’s trends talk about the need for “lifelong learning”, right?

The concept of “lifelong learning” is promoted, i.e. acquiring knowledge and skills throughout life, not only as part of formal education. However, I am afraid that for now the doctrines are not working. The statistics are alarming: among the most productive, i.e. those aged 25-64, only 7-8 percent undertake any additional education. It’s strange, but people don’t want to take advantage of the many available opportunities to expand their competences.

However, our industry is specific because production and technologies require constant training. An additional stimulus are the regulations and organizational culture of manufacturing companies, which force continuous development of employees. It can be said that there is a culture of education in the technical and production industry.

Does this mean that technical training is crucial for the industry and even the entire economy?

Industry is one of the most important factors influencing GDP. Technical competences determine the functioning of both large companies and SMEs, so they are needed today more than ever before. Also because the economy is facing one of the most important development moments. So far, we have been the so-called “assembly plant of the world” and cheap labor. We owe this to the inflow of investors and the economic boom, but these advantages are slowly disappearing. So far, we have been learning automation from our colleagues from the West. It’s time for the next stage: actually building innovative advantages.

You said that the needs are great. Is it also the awareness of companies? Especially the smaller ones?

There is still an old belief among SMEs that if something has been functioning for 20 years, it does not need changes. And large corporations have a well-organized training policy, set standards and a budget for employee development. This is their advantage. However, many small business owners believe that if an employee has learned “something” once, it should still be enough for him. They focus all their training efforts on further education of salespeople and marketers, believing that efficient sales are the basis of operation.

Of course, this always backfires, because sooner or later it turns out that there is a lack of, for example, a maintenance engineer or someone who will take care of electrical installations.

Are finances a barrier for those who want to further their education?

There are many training co-financing programs. You can apply for funding, for example, under the project: “EDIH-SILESIA Building and using the potential of the EDIH SILESIA SMART SYSTEMS network to enhance digital transformation processes in Poland / EDIH SILESIA SMART SYSTEMS capacity building and deployment in the EDIH network to enhance digital transformation in Poland, contract number DIGITAL: 101083499 – EDIH-SILESIA contract number FENG: FENG.02.22-IP.02-0003/23-00”.

EDIH-SILESIA is one of the 8 European digital innovation centers operating in Poland (EDIH = European Digital Innovation Hub). Its leader is the Katowice Special Economic Zone SA, and we are one of the consortium members. The aim of the project is to support companies that want to transform, change their business model or implement digital technologies. EDIH-SILESIA offers funds for micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. In short: it is enough for the employer to meet minor requirements and not have to pay for competency training. Finance is no longer either problem.

What does your “training center” look like? Is this a school?

The building looks a bit like a school. 8.5 thousand square meters, 50 rooms, actually training laboratories. 350 students per day. The difference is that we create an environment almost identical to a “natural” workplace.

Is this the secret of training effectiveness? On creating real conditions?

This is exactly what we care about. That’s why I talked about laboratories, because each room resembles a production environment, automation systems or elements of a production line. Here you can get dirty with oil and build real industrially serviced systems. These are practical exercises that will allow you to take everything apart, assemble it, run it, and even make a mistake. No consequences, because in training mode. Making a mistake with us is cheap, and thus you can avoid costly mistakes in actual production. All this is condensed into several dozen hours. I heard from students that during a few days we do what we do at university for 3-4 semesters.

Do graduates receive certificates?

Of course. But I would like to emphasize that these are not qualification training courses. We distinguish very clearly between two concepts: competences and qualifications. They are often confused, while a qualification is something that we acquire in a confirmation system, for example an exam. For example: an engineer’s degree or a forklift operator’s license are qualifications. To obtain them, you need to complete a course, pass an exam and obtain these qualifications in the state system. We provide competences, i.e. we educate and help them acquire specific skills. A good example is a milling machine operator who wants to acquire the ability to operate a numerically controlled machine. We will teach him programming and he will gain in the eyes of the employer. Of course, we certify this with an appropriate document.

Who are the trainers conducting the training?

We cooperate with 127 practitioners and experts who on a daily basis provide services related to support, line construction, design and commissioning. They are teachers, academicians of technical universities, entrepreneurs who support the industry in many fields and are valued in the community.

In addition to open training, do you also offer the so-called dedicated training?

Yes. We also offer tailor-made training. Very often, entrepreneurs tell us about their needs, and then we prepare a specific plan that will meet their expectations. However, it doesn’t happen so ad hoc. We have complete service design procedures for customers. By the way, very often such “disposable” products are included in our offer because it turns out that they meet the expectations of other companies. Of course, training can also take place at the customer’s premises. However, experience shows that classes at our headquarters, separated from everyday duties or routine, are more effective.

How does the Polish training and management staff compare to Europe?

Currently, we have the best educated engineers in Poland in the entire history of education and technology. Compared to foreign teams, Polish ones are “the best of the best”. I mean people who are 35-50 years old and graduated from technical universities in times like these… let’s call it a meticulous approach to learning. Above all, they were ambitious, they wanted to “achieve something”, and theoretical knowledge shaped their analytical thinking.

The aim was not to “pass” the exam, but to learn despite the high level and requirements. I’m not sure if today’s education is as demanding. In any case, these generations, after obtaining education, most often worked abroad and there they gained experience and learned independence. As a result, today they are world leaders. I know many cases when a Polish engineer knows a given technology better than the representatives of its manufacturer. Because for 20 years he “went through” x similar ones, took robots apart, put them back together and then automated them. Today, no one else can do it.

Do companies use these specialists?

Just look around at construction sites and factories around the world. Most often, the automation specialist is a Polish engineer. I believe this is a breakthrough moment for the Polish economy. Our engineers should supply companies building plants in Poland. We are still an attractive place for investors, but in addition to tax breaks and lower production costs, our investment attractiveness is currently determined by well-educated staff, cooperation with universities and what I call “high technical efficiency”. We should add research and development centers to this, because such comprehensive resources are needed by a real economy based on knowledge, and not only on the assembly of spare parts, as so far.

More information: www.silesiasmartsystems.pl

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