LIBERTY Częstochowa has welcomed the first group of five student interns from the Częstochowa Vocational and Continuing Education Centre, under a new vocational training scheme set up in collaboration with the Częstochowa City Hall’s “Professional cooperation” project. The project, which is co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund, aims to improve the qualifications of vocational school students to help them fill the needs of the local labour market.

The project will see a sixteen interns working at LIBERTY Częstochowa until they have completed 150 hours on site up or until 31 August when this year’s scheme ends. The students will have access to mentors who are experienced and certified employees of the Steelworks. Liberty Czestochowa will be responsible for providing the students with personal protective equipment, insurance, monitoring their progress in acquiring new skills and issuing a certificate of completion at the end of the internship.

On their first visit to the plant last week, the students were trained in occupational health and safety and fire protection, equipped with their protective clothing and visited the plate rolling mill, learning the basics of the production process. The students will now be introduced to the specific roles they will serve during their apprenticeships, whether in the rolling mill or the Department of Steel Structures and Prefabrication.

The collaboration agreement on student internships was signed on 1 February 2022 by Krishnamoorthy Venkatasubramanian, the CEO of LIBERTY Częstochowa, and Piotr Grzybowski, the Deputy Mayor of Częstochowa, as well as Aleksandra Bożek, the Deputy Head of the Department of European Funds and Development of the City Hall.

Krishnamoorthy Venkatasubramanian, the CEO of LIBERTY Częstochowa, said: “This is an exciting step forward for our business and for the students. We are very pleased to enter into this great partnership with the City Hall as we look forward to the next generation learning about how our plant and our business works and helping us as we look to transform into a low carbon, GREENSTEEL business of the future.”

Through its GREENSTEEL Academy, which is expected to be launched in Poland later this year, LIBERTY already works in close partnership with universities and colleges across Europe with programs dedicated to students including internships, summer schools and visits. The Academy helps to build the skills needed to sustain the steel industry for the long term and meet LIBERTY’s strategic carbon neutrality objectives. The Academy’s mission is to engage, inspire and develop the workforce of today and tomorrow through innovative development programmes, created by LIBERTY’s own teams in collaboration with regional educational and technical establishments and with the support of regional authorities.