Planning a career path once resembled assembling a simple jigsaw puzzle: school, perhaps university, a first job, and steady progression within a single, long-established profession until retirement. Today, the labour market is dynamic, responding rapidly to innovation and global trends; new professions are emerging, requiring ever-newer qualifications and skills. How can sound educational and career decisions be made amidst this maze of change?
Educational choices: navigating a maze of opportunities
Until recently, insight into the labour market and education was fragmented and scattered across multiple sources. Information on qualifications, job vacancies, and curricula was held in separate databases across various institutions. Gaining a comprehensive overview was a major challenge. There was an evident lack of a common language and a single database of verified information to support individuals wishing to advance their careers.
Both those facing educational or career decisions and the practitioners advising them can now draw upon modern technology and data analytics. This formed the focus of discussions during the September meeting of the Competence and Qualification Council and the EdTech Council of the Lewiatan Confederation, alongside experts from the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute (IBE PIB).
User-centred digital tools
Representatives of IBE PIB working on the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) – Agnieszka Marszałek and Dr Wojciech Stęchły – highlighted the necessity of building a reliable qualifications framework and digital tools focused primarily on the user. The objective is for IT systems to move beyond bureaucratic structures and genuinely support people.
Integrating data from the labour market and the education sector makes it possible to create applications that align an individual’s skills with the genuine needs of employers. Consequently, career planning becomes far more informed and grounded in solid data, rather than relying solely on intuition or occupational stereotypes.
Artificial intelligence in guidance – an opportunity or a threat?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making increasingly bold inroads into educational and career guidance. Advanced algorithms can analyse massive datasets, identify subtle trends, and suggest development pathways that users might never have considered. During the meeting, experts highlighted a crucial, challenging question: to what extent can AI offer sound advice on career choices? On the one hand, algorithms present enormous opportunities:
- they can instantly analyse an individual skills profile and match it with relevant training opportunities;
- they can scan thousands of job vacancies, enabling continuous monitoring of which skills are in demand across the market;
- they can broaden access to professional guidance for people from smaller towns or those at risk of exclusion.
On the other hand, margins of error and technological constraints remain genuine challenges. Above all, it is clear that unless we ensure the integration of diverse knowledge sources – so that artificial intelligence relies exclusively on dependable, complete, and up-to-date data – we cannot expect flawless results or sound guidance.
A new model of professional development
The contemporary labour market no longer expects individuals to spend their entire working lives in a profession chosen in their youth. Today, the emphasis is on continuous professional development, acquiring micro-credentials, and upgrading skills in a way that suits individual capabilities and needs. Digital solutions, together with guidance driven by data and artificial intelligence, are designed to help people adapt seamlessly to change.
The event, organised as part of the project ‘Social dialogue on digital transformation at the Lewiatan Confederation’, demonstrated that whilst technology and data are advancing at remarkable speed, they cannot replace humans when it comes to deciding their own future. However, they can serve as a dependable map and compass to help navigate the 21st-century labour market.
Want to find out more on this topic?
- Find out more about the Integrated Qualifications System and digital tools: kwalifikacje.gov.pl.
- Details regarding the meeting and the work of the Lewiatan Confederation can be found on the event page for 11 September 2026: Professional development supported by data and AI.
- Discover how language models work: Dr Marcin Będkowski, How do language models know that…?
- Try out the Sectoral Vocational Education Compass and see how the application can assist your choice of vocational training.