About Voivodeship Labour Office in Katowice
Voivodeship Labour Office in Katowice (VLO) is the organisational entity of the regional government established on the basis of the statute of 31 March 2000 on the change of the statue of employment and combating unemployment (Journal of Laws, No 31, item 384). The VLO operates on the territory of the Śląskie Voivodeship (Silesia).
The main activities of the VLO refer to carrying out tasks commissioned by the regional government within the scope of employment promotion and labour market reviving, preparing analyses and evaluation reports on employment and combating unemployment in the region, developing regional programmes that follow regional development strategy and define the regional social policy.
One of the vital documents that considerably influence the situation of the unemployed population in the region of Śląskie Voivodeship is the Regional Action Plan for Employment. It defines a specific approach of how to deal with the issue of unemployment in Silesia by following and developing Employment Strategy key priorities concerning employment promotion, reducing unemployment effects, human resources development and job activation.
Poland’s accession to the European Union has provided our institution with new opportunities to undertake more activities in favour of improving local labour market and, as a result, reducing unemployment. We have a well-developed EURES (European Employment Service) department which is a network of cooperation within public employment services aiming to facilitate the free movement of workers within the European Economic Area. EURES department promotes geographical and professional workers’ mobility providing information, advice and help to job seekers interested to undertake employment abroad as well as to employers who want to hire workers from other EU member states. Polish qualified workers, both professionals such as engineers, doctors as well as labourers like construction, agriculture and catering staff are recognized by overseas employers.
The key mission of the Voivodeship Labour Office is to promote employment, reduce unemployment effects and stimulate job activation aiming to reach high rate of employment, human resources development, high quality of work as well as foster social inclusion. By becoming familiarized with the activities carried out by the Voivodeship Labour Office would be very helpful for every individual entering labour market in search for job offers, statistical data, reports and analyses, training programmes for both, the unemployed and professionals as well as receiving support while setting up own business and seeking for qualified workers.