Interview with Radosław Figarski, the chairman of the board of KONREM MET

2018-11-30

What does the job market in the region look like? Is vocational education popular at the moment? Is dual training an opportunity for the industrial sector?

Radoslaw Figarski, the president of KONREM MET has been interviewed by Cozadzien.pl.

What does the job market in our region look like from your perspective?

- The job market in the Radom area has never looked very good. However, recently there have been some changes. It is getting more difficult to find employees. We are also struggling with the problem of acquiring new staff.

Konrem MET does specialist projects for the largest companies in Poland. Let’s look at an example of the Chemical Industry Plant "Siarkopol". What employment problems can the owner of such a company face?

- Of course, in addition to physical workers, we need specialists in the fields of mechanics, electrical engineering and automation. The biggest problem of the region is that there is no training in these fields available for students in Radom.

You are currently looking for employees. Do they have to be people with experience or can they be people who are just starting their career?

- We are looking for people who want to learn. That's why all our new employees, no matter at what stage of their career they are, they have to be trained. If we deal with a person without experience, then we have to dedicate more time for training, but we are able to do it.

What are the current recruitment positions and what profits can a potential employee count on?

- We are recruiting for a number of physical work positions. However, if we are talking about specialists, then we need mechanics-constructors, electrical engineers, automation engineers and production preparation team, that is, people specializing in orders, purchasing and, of course, also administrative services.

How do you see professional training in Poland? Is it going in the right direction and is it still as popular as it once was?

- It seems to me that it is beginning to change now. People have come to a conclusion that studying or learning general majors, such as administration or sociology does not always promise the possibility of finding a good job. Technical professions do give this opportunity. In fact, at the moment in Poland there is the greatest demand for technical jobs. We can also see a positive shift in the direction of educating people in these technical fields.

So, in fact, vocational training is experiencing its renaissance and you are on the lookout for people with such education?

- Yes, we need such people. But I have an impression that we are just at the beginning of this path of development, technical and vocational training.

When it comes to dual education, is this an opportunity for the industrial sector?

- Of course, dual education was very popular in the '70s or '80s. Later it was abandoned, probably due to the lack of candidates to study in these fields. However, it is necessary, because only in this way a graduate of any school is basically a fully valuable employee for a company.

You are open to people who do not have so much experience in the industry. Konrem MET offers apprenticeships and internships for students and graduates.

- Yes, we offer apprenticeships for both students and graduates. Everyone who applies will be able to do their internship with us. There are young people who have been doing internship with us every summer for a few years.