Academic guidance

Adults, including adults with disabilities, may acquire and broaden their knowledge and skills and obtain and upgrade vocational/professional qualifications in lifelong learning in public and non-public schools for adults and in non-school settings.

Entities offering continuing education courses in non-school settings are required to provide organisational and technical conditions for people with disabilities to participate in education.

(Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 6 October 2023 on continuing education in non-school settings, as subsequently amended /  Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 6 października 2023 r. w sprawie kształcenia ustawicznego w formach pozaszkolnych, z późn. zm.)

Adults can obtain information on education and training opportunities from:

• the Voluntary Labour Corps (for details, see Chapter 11.7 ‘Support measures for learners in adult education and training’);

• employment agencies;

• higher education institutions;

• associations, foundations, civic and professional organisations, and other organisations whose statutory aims include such services.

The Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) provides for the validation of knowledge and skills acquired through any form of:

• non-formal learning (courses and other organised training activities);

• informal learning.

The validation of learning outcomes, which leads to formal recognition of knowledge and skills, enables equalising opportunities for the acquisition and recognition of qualifications.

Each of the qualifications in the IQS is described in detail in terms of the skills required to obtain it, its functions and labour market demand. Thus, people who seek validation can assess their competitiveness on the labour market at the time of obtaining a given qualification.

(Act of 22 December 2015 on the Integrated Qualifications System, as subsequently amended / Ustawa z dnia 22 grudnia 2015 r. o zintegrowanym systemie kwalifikacji, z późn. zm.)

Psychological counselling

Learners in public schools for adults, continuing education centres, practical training centres and retraining and in-service training centres may benefit from counselling services offered by psychologists as part psychological and educational support.

Such services are also provided by non-governmental organisations using central and local government and European Union funds.

Career guidance

In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of the European Union on lifelong guidance, lifelong career guidance refers to services and activities which aim to assist in making educational and occupational choices and managing careers, and which are offered to persons of any age and at any stage of life.

Such services are offered by:

• schools, including schools for adults;

• higher education institutions;

• training institutions;

• public employment agencies: career information and planning centres at regional labour offices, and district labour offices;

• employers;

• non-governmental organisations;

• private entities.

As part of psychological and educational support provided by their school, learners in public schools for adults can take education and career planning classes. They can also participate in counselling and guidance sessions, and attend career guidance workshops and courses.

Career guidance and information services are also provided by vocational training and continuing education centres, in collaboration with employers and employers’ organisations. Centres also offer vocational qualification courses, and conduct various activities in the area of career guidance and information activities.

Career guidance is provided:

• to individuals and groups;

• in direct contact with service users or in a remote mode (for example, online courses and classes, help lines, online services, telephone calls or through an online instant messenger).

The services include:

• help in job search;

• organisation of, or help in undertaking, internships, practical placements or voluntary service;

• access to up-to-date information about occupations and opportunities to improve or acquire knowledge and vocational skills;

• help in developing clients’ self-knowledge and knowledge about their capacities and expectations, and in boosting their self-esteem and motivation;

• development of skills needed for planning education and career paths, job seeking and preparing for a job interview;

• development of soft skills, including effective communication and negotiation skills, and self-assertiveness;

• support in entering the labour market, including the transition from school, and adaptation to the work environment.

Adults, including adults with disabilities, may attend public and non-public schools for adults and acquire and improve their knowledge, skills and vocational qualifications in non-school settings.

Bodies which administer public retraining and in-service training centres can agree to appoint one of the centres to coordinate theoretical training for juvenile workers in their province(s), following consultation with the body or bodies responsible for pedagogical supervision over the centres. Such coordinating centres additionally gather, analyse and disseminate information about training needs of juvenile workers and the scope of theoretical training provided to them by public centres in the province(s).

Public continuing education centres, practical training centres and retraining and in-service training centres collaborate with:

• employers in the organisation and provision of continuing education; development of education and training offers for non-school settings in line with employers’ expectations; and continuing education of employees;

• labour offices which are involved in the training of people registered there;

• other entities providing continuing education as their statutory task.

The National Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled People (Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych, PFRON) carries out employment support programmes for people with disabilities.

To gain sufficient independence in the work environment, school graduates who need support to start their internship or who are already employed can apply - independently or via their statutory representative - for additional permanent or temporary assistance from a careers adviser working in a district labour office.

The district labour office defines additional responsibilities of a careers adviser in writing, in consultation with the persons with a disability or their statutory representative.

Such additional responsibilities include, in particular, active cooperation with employers during an internship, and support offered to people undertaking an internship to:

• adapt to the new environment;

• understand fully the employer’s requirements;

• gain co-workers’ acceptance;

• cope with emergency or crisis situations.

Unemployed people and job seekers (including persons with disabilities) registered with a district labour office may be offered:

• career guidance;

• a grant for people taking up study;

• training courses (in non-school settings), organised for learners who wish to acquire, develop or improve general or vocational knowledge and skills, which are necessary for employment, including job seeking skills;

• internships which are aimed at developing practical skills through the performance of tasks at a workplace on a non-contractual basis;

• vocational training at the workplace where learners can acquire new vocational qualifications or skills by performing tasks specific to a job, in accordance with a programme agreed between the head of the relevant local government body, the employer and the unemployed person or unemployed job seeker.

Career guidance involves:

• individual guidance to facilitate the choice of an occupation, the retaining for new qualifications or the decision to take up or leave a job;

• psychological tests and specialist medical examination for employment purposes (certificates of fitness for work);

• group guidance facilitating self-assessment and developing skills useful in job search and career development;

• career-related information on occupations, labour market, and education and training opportunities.

Grants for learners (grants for persons enrolling on an education programme) are available to unemployed people who have no vocational qualifications confirmed by a diploma, school leaving certificate, certificate awarded by a training institution or another document certifying that they hold qualifications to practise an occupation. A grant is awarded on condition that they were enrolled on a programme in:

• a post-primary school for adults (a public or non-public school) or

• a higher education institution, if they follow a part-time programme

within 12 months of the date of registration with a district labour office. 

A grant may be awarded to an unemployed person if the per-capita income in their family (within the meaning of the welfare legislation) does not exceed a threshold set for means-tested welfare benefits.

Where beneficiaries continue education, the grant is paid until the completion of a programme as provided for in the curriculum. Grant entitlement expires when a learner drops out of a programme.

Career Guidance Centres (CGCs) are specialised institutions operating within regional (province-level) labour offices. They collect and disseminate information about jobs, labour market and opportunities for gaining vocational qualifications, and support their clients in making career choices.

CGCS help:

• unemployed people,

• job seekers,

• school graduates,

• young people in schools,

• employers.

As part of guidance, CGCs offer support, for example, in:

• choosing or changing a career;

• career planning;

• gaining higher qualifications;

• assessing one’s own competencies and interests;

• career development planning.

(Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 30 October 2025 on job placement and career guidance services provided by the Labour Offices and the Voluntary Labour Corps / Rozporządzenie Ministra Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej z dnia 30 października 2025 r. w sprawie pośrednictwa pracy i poradnictwa zawodowego świadczonego przez urzędy pracy oraz Ochotnicze Hufce Pracy)

CGCs provide information on:

• writing CVs, covering letters and replies to advertisements in magazines;

• preparation for a job interview;

• most suitable paths for retraining and further training;

• effective methods of job seeking;

• basic issues concerning the establishment of a business;

• specific job profiles for various occupations;

• job opportunities in the country and abroad;

• current labour market situation.

CGCs also offer access to information about schools, higher education institutions and training institutions, and journals, leaflets, CV and covering letter templates, films and portfolios on individual occupations, and computer applications with information about occupations and training institutions.

As a type of the services offered, CGCs organise workshops for all those who wish to take up or change their job but encounter obstacles which are difficult to overcome.

Workshop participants can develop job seeking skills such as self-presentation and non-verbal communication, building self-esteem and stress management skills, and creative thinking, which help to break routine and habits in everyday activities.

Classes enable participants to learn techniques which make their job seeking efforts more effective. They also enable them to better prepare for a job interview.

As an important element of their activities, CGCs collect job offers:

• through direct links with employers;

• from the press;

• from the Internet.

The following services are available to job seekers:

• registration in the database based on a completed Job Seeker Sheet;

• facilitating contacts with employers;

• support in a preliminary qualification assessment.

CGCs employ careers and education advisers. The responsibilities of their staff also include job recruitment for individual positions. They work together with careers advisers, for example, to support individuals facing group lay-offs.

CGCs careers advisers select people interested in a specific job offer according to the requirements of the employer. At an employer’s request, they assess candidates’ suitability and fitness for a given job. Employers can register vacancies by filling in a special form.

CGCs cooperate with institutions and social partners who promote pro-employment policies and mitigate the consequences of unemployment; for example:

• employers’ organisations;

• heads of the regional education authorities;

• student organisations;

• welfare centres;

• non-governmental organisations;

• healthcare institutions; for example, those treating addictions;

• the media.

CGCs offer all of their services on a fee-free basis.

District and regional labour offices have career information resources which any interested person can use independently on their premises.

Career-related information is available in paper, audio-visual or electronic formats, including the websites of district and regional labour offices.

People who wish to acquire new or additional vocational or professional knowledge, skills or qualifications, be retrained for new qualifications and seek career advice  receive support from the Sectoral Skills Centres ( Chapter 11.4 ‘Guidance and counselling in early childhood and school education’).