A modern greenhouse, training grounds and internships - the Horticultural School Complex in Opatówek received over 3 million złoty (around 700,000 euro) for expanding the workshops, which allow practical vocational learning and applying it later during paid apprenticeships. The investment was made possible thanks to the Integrated Territorial Investment for the Kalisz-Ostrów Agglomeration.
Last year, the school built and equipped modern workshops. Now it’s time for greenhouses. Four of them, where students train now, were created in the 1970s. That’s also when the school opened. The old greenhouses don’t fulfill the student’s expectations anymore and deviate from the standards of most farms.
“That’s why during the summer holidays we will begin the construction of a new, fully automated and heated greenhouse, which allows teaching modern and ecological growing techniques,” said Marek Janiak, the school’s principal. “The greenhouse will be divided into four quarters for producing different plants. Thanks to modern solutions, students will be learning what is already the standard in most farms and conduct experiments to test the effects of specific techniques and solutions.”
Later, they will employ them during apprenticeships running the whole year. Practical learning also includes one-day field trips to the school’s partners, of which there are almost 30, and one-week-long or three-month internships. The students will be paid around 1000 złoty (230 euros) a month and their instructors a little less. Additionally, every student will be given the tools necessary for practical classes.
“Promotion of vocational schooling, so that this type of school would become students’ first choice, and de-enchanting vocational learning is very important,” said Marzena Wodzińska, member of the Greater Poland Voivodeship Board. “Our objective is to make this the most important element in the development of education in the Greater Poland region. When we talk to businesses, which also include farmers and growers, they say they lack professional workers. This school provides practical education for students in modern conditions.”
“They will be able to start working right after finishing their education. And there is no shortage of jobs and the people running horticultural farms, particularly those oriented towards greenhouse production, have been saying for years how they lack workforce. Horticulture is the fundament of education in our region. Especially greenhouse production. There are more modern greenhouses in our region than in the whole of Russia. And they are fitted with the most state-of-the-art, world-class equipment. That’s why it’s important that the students of horticultural schools should learn in the settings in which later they will be working,” added Krzysztof Nosal, the Kalisz governor.
The old greenhouses will be dismantled, and plastic tunnels will be erected in their place. Next to them, there will be a training yard for learning to drive farming vehicles.
The investment is planned for this year. It will cost almost 2.5 million złoty (580,000 euros), and the subsidy from the Regional Development Fund will cover over 2 million złoty (468,000 euros). The internships for 120 students and 20 teachers, who will be able to upgrade their qualifications, will run until 2022. For this, the school will spend over one million złoty (234,000 euros), out of which over 920,000 złoty (215,000 euros) will come from the European Social Fund.
Source: www.faktykaliskie.pl