Two reforms were of key importance to the development of vocational education in Poland: the 1999 reform established centralised state (external) exams, and the 2012 reform broke down occupations into qualifications awarded upon passing exams, while making exams available to all interested parties, not only to school graduates. 

The Classification of Occupations for Sectoral Vocational Education is a register of occupations for which education is provided in sectoral vocational schools (stage I and stage II sectoral vocational schools) and technical secondary schools. It defines occupations through sets of qualifications identified within them. The classification covers over 230 occupations. They include around 280 qualifications which are assigned to 32 sectors, based on specific vocational skills or the extent to which such skills are used to perform occupational tasks. Each occupation comprises one or two qualifications. Occupations for art education include specialisms or specialisation areas. 

Young people who have finished a primary school and are primarily interested to obtain a qualification for practising an occupation can choose a 3-year stage I sectoral vocational school. After passing a vocational exam, pupils who have finished a stage I sectoral vocational school obtain a vocational diploma, conferring qualifications for specific occupations. If they wish to do so, they can continue education in:

• a stage II sectoral vocational school training for an occupation that embraces a qualification common to the occupation for which pupils are trained in stage I and stage II sectoral vocational schools;

• a general secondary school, starting in Grade II.

The Polish vocational education system also includes other institutions which provide wider opportunities to acquire vocational qualifications. In particular:

• vocational schools can be combined into vocational education and training centres (placówka kształcenia zawodowego) and continuing education centres (centrum kształcenia ustawicznego) to offer a wider variety of courses and increase opportunities for cooperation with employers;

• vocational qualification courses are offered to adult learners; these are vocational training courses provided in non-school settings, which enable learners to take exams leading to qualifications for a given occupation.

Types of institutions

The vocational education system in Poland includes the following typesof vocational secondary schools for young people:

• 3-year stage I sectoral vocational schools (szkoła branżowa I stopnia) (for pupils aged 15 to 18 years). Pupils who have finished a stage I sectoral vocational school obtain a vocational diploma upon passing a vocational exam, and may continue education in a stage II sectoral vocational school (see above) or in Grade II of a general secondary school for adults;

• 2-year stage II sectoral vocational schools (szkoła branżowa II stopnia) (for learners aged 19-20 years). Upon passing a vocational exam for a given occupation, learners obtain a vocational diploma, with the title of Technician, in an occupation that embraces a qualification common to the occupation for which pupils/learners are trained in a stage I sectoral vocational school and a stage II sectoral vocational school. They can also obtain a maturity certificate upon passing the maturity exam.

• 5-year technical secondary schools (technikum) (pupils aged 15 to 20 years), where pupils can obtain not only a vocational diploma, which confers vocational qualifications for a given occupation upon passing a vocational exam, but also a maturity certificate upon passing the maturity exam.

• 3-year schools preparing for employment (szkoła specjalna przysposabiająca do pracy), which take pupils with a moderate and severe intellectual disability and multiple disabilities and lead to a certificate confirming preparation for employment (see also Chapter 11 ‘Educational_Support_and_Guidance’).  

Geographical accessibility and basic statistical data

Post-primary vocational schools are located primarily in urban areas. Those in rural areas are mainly agricultural schools.

In the school year 2024/2025, there were 1,848 technical secondary schools with 687,700 pupils. As compared with the previous school year, the number of technical secondary schools decreased (by around 0.7%). In the same period, there were 1,697 stage I sectoral vocational schools, which indicates an increase by 25 compared to the previous school year. In total, schools of this type had 212,400 pupils (8.9% more than in the previous year). In the same period, there were 252 stage II sectoral vocational schools for young people, with over 12,600 learners in total. (Source: Polish Central Statistical Office, ‘Education in the 2024/2025 school year (preliminary data)’). 

Admission requirements and choice of school

See:  ‘Admission requirements and choice of school in general upper secondary education’ in Chapter 5.1. 

Age levels and grouping of pupils/students

Vocational schools take, as a rule, young people who have finished the primary school and are aged 15 years. The duration of the education cycle in technical secondary schools, as well as in stage I and stage II sectoral vocational schools jointly, is 5 years (pupils/learners aged 15 to 20 years).

A class (also referred to as ‘division’ in the national legislation) is the basic organisational unit in schools. It (nominally) groups pupils/learners of the same age who jointly follow the same curriculum under the supervision of teachers. The legislation refers to all classes at the same education level as grades. Roman numerals are used to designate classes and grades (for example, Grades I to V in 5-year technical secondary schools, and Grades I to III in 3-year stage I sectoral vocational schools).

Grouping into classes is based on the age of pupils/learners as the basic criterion and, where applicable, on the promotion of the pupil/learner to the next grade. A class tutor/teacher supervises each class. As a rule, the same teacher holds this function for a given class throughout the period of education in the school.

The legislation does not define the minimum or maximum number of pupils/learners per class. However, there are exceptions to this rule; for example, the number of pupils/learners per class in integration schools and integration classes of mainstream sectoral vocational schools should range between 15 and 20, including 3 to 5 pupils/learners with disabilities.

For some classes (for example, Computer Science, Foreign Language, lab classes), pupils are divided into groups in the cases and in accordance with the rules specified in the Regulation of the Minister of Education of 20 May 2024 on the outline timetables for public schools, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji z dnia 20 maja 2024 r. w sprawie ramowych planów nauczania dla publicznych szkół, z późn. zm.). 

Organisation of the school year

See ‘Organization of the school year in general upper secondary education’. in Chapter 5.1

Organisation of the school day and week

The weekly number of teaching/class hours for compulsory classes and lessons with the class tutor/teacher is 34-36 in technical secondary schools (36-38 in bilingual classes), and 29-32 in stage I sectoral vocational schools. In addition, the timetable includes Religion or Ethics classes (electives) and hours to be allocated by the school head.

Classes usually start at 8 a.m. and finish around 2-3 p.m. if the school works in one shift (they last longer if the school works in two shifts). Each lesson (period) lasts 45 minutes. After consultation with the parents' council and the pupil self-government, the school head sets the duration of breaks between lessons, during which pupils can have meals in the school premises. Breaks usually last 5-10 minutes, and a longer break lasts around 25 minutes. The duration of the school day also depends on the size of the school building, the number of classrooms and other facilities for after-school activities. 

Post-primary school pupils attend classes on 5 days a week (from Monday to Friday), although where justified (and rather rarely), it is possible to extend the school week to 6 days. 

The head of a vocational school which provides full-time day programmes and has practical vocational training organised outside the school may decide that classes/training activities are conducted on 6 days per week. The head takes such a decision after consultation with the school council (if established in the school), the teaching council and the parents’ council and in agreement with entities hosting pupils for practical vocational training.