Initial education for prospective teachers and other staff specialising in continuing or adult education is provided by some higher education institutions (HEIs) as part of degree programmes in the field of Teacher Education and non-degree postgraduate programmes.

However, there are no specific or additional qualification requirements for teachers working in schools for adults, stage II sectoral vocational schools and post-secondary schools (which take adult learners but are not classified as schools for adults in the legislation) or adult education institutions within the school education system. They should fulfil the same qualification requirements as teachers in the corresponding types of schools for children and young people. Thus, they follow the same initial education pathways as teachers working in schools for children and young people; see Chapter 8.1 ‘Initial education for teachers working in early childhood and school education’. 

Staff/trainers involved in adult education in institutions operating outside the school education system, which are administered by entities operating on the basis of the legislation on economic activity or labour market-related training activities, do not have the status of teachers. Each entity lays down qualification requirements for their staff in its internal regulations. 

However, if such an entity has obtained accreditation for a specific type of continuing education course (see Chapter 10.3 ‘Quality assurance in adult education and training’) and provides a vocational qualification course (for example, for prospective childminders), it is required to hire school education teachers and/or practical vocational training instructors (Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 6 October 2023 on continuing education in non-school settings / Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 6 października 2023 r. w sprawie kształcenia ustawicznego w formach pozaszkolnych; Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 22 February 2019 on practical vocational training, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 22 lutego 2019 r. w sprawie praktycznej nauki zawodu, z późn. zm). 

For information about initial education and the qualification requirements for school education teachers, see Chapter 8.1 ‘Initial education for teachers working in early childhood and school education’. For information about the qualification requirements for practical vocational training instructors, see ‘Teachers educators’ in Chapter 8.1.