Engineer shortage throws a wrench into the works
Car producers and engineering companies say a lack of qualified graduates could cast a shadow over growth in their fields.
The low numbers of suitably skilled employees is most apparent in the southern half of the country where a number of major production plants are concentrated.
The aircraft engineers PZL Świdnik, which produces helicopters and high-grade components for aeroplanes and gliders at its plant near Lublin, is still short of more than 70 engineers and production personnel after a recent recruitment drive to fill 150 places.
Company spokesman Jan Mazur said: "It is not just PZL Świdnik that finds itself facing these difficulties. This problem is widespread."
The country's leading car producer, Fiat Polska, is so concerned about its source of future workers that it is considering setting up a grant system to encourage young people to study engineering before offering them employment after graduation.
In the north, shipyards have also experienced difficulties finding qualified welders. The Szczecin Shipyards are reportedly desperate to increase their engineering workforce by a further 30 percent.
General Motor's Przemek Byszewski said: "We are currently recruiting engineers to increase production at our Gliwice plant later this year. At the moment we are not experiencing this problem but it may become apparent in the future."
While this shortfall may in some part be accentuated by the 'brain drain' resulting from higher wages and lack of employment restrictions in EU countries such as Ireland and Britain, Mazur says the problem is more deeply rooted. "The reasons behind this are in a large part due to a break in our education system," says Nazur.
Figures show that between 2000 and 2002 the number of engineering and technical graduates remained stable at approximately 20,500 while the ranks of graduates in information and media courses more than doubled from 2,150 to more than 4,400.
"A few years ago when the country was in crisis universities and institutions changed the profile of the courses, leaving an educational hole, if you like, in certain professions such as engineering," says Nazur.
"This needs addressing because otherwise it will have serious implications for production in Poland. It will take two to three years to resolve as institutions refocus their courses," he adds.
The low numbers of suitably skilled employees is most apparent in the southern half of the country where a number of major production plants are concentrated.
The aircraft engineers PZL Świdnik, which produces helicopters and high-grade components for aeroplanes and gliders at its plant near Lublin, is still short of more than 70 engineers and production personnel after a recent recruitment drive to fill 150 places.
Company spokesman Jan Mazur said: "It is not just PZL Świdnik that finds itself facing these difficulties. This problem is widespread."
The country's leading car producer, Fiat Polska, is so concerned about its source of future workers that it is considering setting up a grant system to encourage young people to study engineering before offering them employment after graduation.
In the north, shipyards have also experienced difficulties finding qualified welders. The Szczecin Shipyards are reportedly desperate to increase their engineering workforce by a further 30 percent.
General Motor's Przemek Byszewski said: "We are currently recruiting engineers to increase production at our Gliwice plant later this year. At the moment we are not experiencing this problem but it may become apparent in the future."
While this shortfall may in some part be accentuated by the 'brain drain' resulting from higher wages and lack of employment restrictions in EU countries such as Ireland and Britain, Mazur says the problem is more deeply rooted. "The reasons behind this are in a large part due to a break in our education system," says Nazur.
Figures show that between 2000 and 2002 the number of engineering and technical graduates remained stable at approximately 20,500 while the ranks of graduates in information and media courses more than doubled from 2,150 to more than 4,400.
"A few years ago when the country was in crisis universities and institutions changed the profile of the courses, leaving an educational hole, if you like, in certain professions such as engineering," says Nazur.
"This needs addressing because otherwise it will have serious implications for production in Poland. It will take two to three years to resolve as institutions refocus their courses," he adds.
