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Individual Development Accounts: investing in the development of adults. Consultation process is now underway

18.06.2024

Poles increasingly expand their knowledge and skills. This positive trend was discussed today during the consultation on Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), an initiative to support the professional and personal development of adult Poles. With IKR, every adult will be able to actively invest in their career development and skills. The round table event was attended by Deputy Minister Monika Sikora and representatives of the European Commission, key ministries, Marshall Offices, representatives of social partners, NGOs, training companies, public employment services, provinces and academics.

Individual Development Accounts: investing in the development of adults. Consultation process is now underway

Individual Development Accounts are an adult learning financing mechanism, where each person is supposed to receive funds to cover the participation in training courses of their choosing. IDAs are intended to support adults in accessing training, regardless of their labour market status, and to increase the incentives and motivation of individuals to seek training. 

Individual Development Accounts are an extremely important solution. I hope that it will increase the motivation of adult Polish men and women to participate in training and develop their skills. In a fast-changing world, the ability to adapt and continuously improve is essential. This is why it is so important for everyone to have access to the tools that enable them to develop their professional and personal competences,

said Monika Sikora, Deputy Minister for Development Funds and Regional Policy.

IDAs in FERS (European Funds for Social Development) 2021-2027 programme

The planned pilot of Individual Development Accounts in Poland implements the recommendations of the European Council. The pilot phase is a complete novelty in the system of support for the development of lifelong learning. It aims to prepare the IDA system for larger scale deployment in the future.

The pilot will consist of two phases:

  1. developing the concept of the IDA system in Poland – testing possible solutions,
  2. the actual pilot of the solution found (scheduled to commence in 2026).

PLN 111.5 million has been earmarked to test such a solution in Poland.

The IDA pilot in Poland

The project will be directed to all adults. Individual Development Accounts will be supported by public funds. Nevertheless, the employer and the employee may also contribute. In this way, the solution will benefit those who really want to improve their competence.

The European Commission proposed that every working age person should be able to set up an individual account to accumulate capital for education. This solution would be universal and allow to adapt assistance to the individual needs of persons concerned.

The IDA pilot will employ the solutions already developed for the distribution of funds through the Subjective Financing Systems (PSF) and the Development Services Database (BUR)

  • The PSF is an ESF funding distribution system for training intended for entrepreneurs and individuals that has been in operation among local governments since 2014. It is assumed that the entrepreneurs or individuals selects a training offer from the BUR database according to their needs.
  • BUR is the largest public database of training offers in Poland, operated by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, which offers high-quality training and advisory services.

The pilot will include an advisory component to help IDA users to assess their learning needs and choose the most appropriate training.

After the conclusion of the pilot, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy will be responsible for the implementation of the IDAs in Poland.

This round table marks the start of the consultation procedure. Its aim is to commence concerted efforts to define the future of Individual Development Accounts in Poland.

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