From 06.03 - 10.03.2023, young people from grades 7 and 8 of Jelenia Góra primary schools (Primary School No. 11, Primary School No. 5 and Primary School No. 7) participated in a meeting at the VALMET Service and Technologies S.A. plant in Cieplice, organized by the Karkonosze Regional Development Agency S.A. as part of a series of meetings between students and entrepreneurs.

VALMET Service and Technologies S.A. is part of the global VALMET Group, a leader in manufacturing paper machines and production lines sold worldwide. The company is headquartered in Finland, has subsidiaries on all continents and has a total of about 17,500 employees.

At each of the meetings at Valmet, students were introduced to the entire process of paper machine production. They had the opportunity to learn about the specifics of work in each department - starting with the marketing, engineering, assembly, sales, purchasing, applications, the department that designs production line activities, logistics and shipping, and ending with the H.R. department.

On 01.03, 15.03 and 22.03, primary school students from grades 7 and 8 (Primary Schools No. 7, 5 and 2) participated in meetings at Jeleniogórskie Zakłady Optyczne. JZO is a plant that is part of the global EssiliorLuxottica group, a leader in producing eyeglass lenses, which are sold worldwide.

During their visits to JZO, the students were introduced to the entire process of manufacturing eyeglass lenses. They had the opportunity to learn about the marketing department, sales, purchasing, lens production, the department of tinting, curing and enrichment and embedding of lenses in eyeglass frames, the logistics department and H.R.

At each of the companies, the young people became acquainted with the various jobs. The managers of both companies, who were involved in the youth's visits, extensively discussed the range of activities performed at each position and the predispositions and psycho-physical qualities a candidate for a given position should possess.

The young people were presented with the development path in each company, indicating the possibility of performing work around the world, both in individual branches and during the launch of the production line at the customer. In addition, students were introduced to the offer of internships and apprenticeships, which they could pursue already at the secondary school level.

Young people actively participated in the meetings, asking questions about professional requirements, employment opportunities and salary levels for particular positions. Throughout the meetings, the necessity of foreign language skills, especially English, was often emphasized to be eligible for job positions at VALMET and JZO.

The entire series of 8 meetings this year was attended by 110 students.

The primary purpose of these meetings was to familiarize young people with professions and specialists, the working environment, and the general and specific requirements for candidates for employees of a particular company. Meetings between students and entrepreneurs at individual companies were aimed at assisting young people in planning their educational and career paths and facilitating such an important decision as choosing a secondary school.