Small town, big business

The analysis called “Small town, big deal. Research on the potential of a new warehouse and industrial locations in Poland” was developed by JLL company in cooperation with market experts such as Hillwood and Manpower. It covered 34 centres with cities of over one hundred thousand inhabitants and neighbouring counties. The high rating of Częstochowa was due to, among others, a good network of existing and planned expressways within a 50 km radius of the city, as well as a vast area delimited by routes through which you can enter the city. From Częstochowa, within two hours we also have access to an area inhabited by almost 8.8 million people, within 8 hours – by about 60 million people and the nearest airport from Częstochowa can now be reached in a much shorter time than an hour. The availability of employees is a significant asset to the city. According to Manpower, it will take only fifty days to recruit a crew of 100 for the production plant. Our city stands out by a 70% share of potential investment areas covered by the local development plan and a high ratio of production companies. That demonstrates good conditions for business development and better opportunities to find subcontractors or co-operants than anywhere else. The strengthening status of Częstochowa, as a still relatively new invest ment centre with real estate in the KSEZ, serves the economic development of the entire northern subregion of the Silesian Voivodeship. The Hillwood company operating in the commercial real estate industry has recently completed the construc tion of the hall of the CzęstochowaZachód logistics centre, which will make a new warehouse park. That is one of the company’s largest investments in the voivodeship. Services are also doing well in Częstochowa. The sector of modern business services in Poland has been developing intensively for five years. As a destination country, we have the chance to gather experience and learn, which means that we are perceived by experts like Tholons, Everest Group and potential investors as a very mature BSS location. To date, the activity of BSS companies is focused primarily in eight major Polish agglomerations: Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw, Tri-City, Poznań, Upper Silesian, Łódź, Bydgoszcz/Toruń which employ a total of 92% of employees in the sector. In 2018, twelve cities were recognized as rising stars of outsourcing. These are cities with development potential and those that have already found recognition in the eyes of BSS investors. The report indicated Białystok, Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa, Elbląg, Kielce, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Radom, Rzeszów, Szczecin and Zielona Góra. About 150 enterprises located in the above cities employ eighteen thousand people. These are cities with huge potential and development opportunities, due to the growing competition for employees and the saturation of this type of investments with cities that are leaders. In Częstochowa, BPO occupies 78.7% of the business services market, and the companies that are located here are: • TRW Automotive SSC, • TRW Automotive R&D, • LGBS ITO, • TeleConceptBPO, • Contact Center One BPO, • Telbridge BPO, • Polcall BPO, • Call Center Inter Galactica BPO, • SII BPO, • SGP BPO, • Work Service BPO, • Human Hunter BPO, • Havier BPO, • Exact Systems BPO. Outsourcing centers in Częstochowa operate languages such as: Polish: 14; English: 14; German: 10; Spanish: 2; French: 2; Italian: 2; Russian: 4; Hungarian: 1; Greek: 1; Romanian: 2; Czech: 4. Competitive costs of doing business and the availability of employees who speak many languages are undoubtedly the main advantages that Częstochowa encourages entrepreneurs from the business services sector. In this context, the city authorities focus on the development of cooperation between the academic community and business. As part of the Częstochowa Industrial and Technology Park, the city offers office space for rent, support for young, innovative entrepreneurs and scientists from the Częstochowa University of Technology, support for the so-called social economy, training and workshops. Besides, the Technology Transfer Center was established in the city. The city also offers investment incentives in the form of tax exemptions under the KSEZ and a system of local conces sions, including the creation of modern office space in the B + standard and higher. Częstochowa is a city that provides a stable business environment, an attractive investment offer and above all, competitive employment costs and an unsaturated labour market which still allows recruiting educated staff. Lower competitiveness among Często chowa employers in the SSC area allows for building lasting relationships with employees and thus reducing the level of staff fluctuation. Częstochowa is a city that provides a stable business environment, an attractive investment offer and above all, competitive employment costs and an unsaturated labour market which still allows recruiting educated staff. Lower competitiveness among Częstochowa employers in the SSC area allows for building lasting relationships with employees and thus reducing the level of staff fluctuation.

In Częstochowa, students of technical and vocational schools today have the opportunity to study in classes profiled to meet the needs of the labour market. For this reason, most activities related to technical and vocational schools are involved – in addition to the Education Department of the City Hall – also the Department of European Funds and Development.

Thus, the city promotes and rewards higher employment standards and the creation of employers’ opportuni ties for the professional development of employees. The total value of projects dedicated to technical and vocational education in 2016-2018 is over PLN 20 million. The funds were allocated to retrofitting school labs and intensifying cooperation with entrepreneurs.

The Better Job Now program was created in the city, aimed at increasing the quality of work in the context of its performance and employee remuneration. The program is based on three directions of activities: Fair Play, Center for Better Workplaces and initiatives to improve the qualifications of people who want to have a better job and focus on developing their professional competences.

Częstochowa invests in staff, introduces changes in technical education and creates a new image of vocational education among young people and above all – among parents. Subsequent editions of the “Young Creative People” project as part of the Program for Supporting Entrepreneurship and Creating New Workplaces in Częstochowa for 2013–2018, in addition to shaping entrepreneurial attitudes among young people, also showed the benefits of choosing a profession adapted to the needs of entrepreneurs. This mission has now been taken over by the ‘Professional’ project, which is part of the Better Job Now program. The right choice of vocational and technical school is understood as a prior examination of the labour market in the context of the demand for professionals in a given industry. As part of the Fair Play program, the resolution regarding property tax exemptions was modified as part of the de minimis state aid program for creating new jobs for employers. At the moment, it can be used by socially responsible employers who care for employees and limit junk contracts. When issuing the decision, the city will also verify the employer’s behaviour in the last 12 months regarding dismissals and admissions of employees to seal the system of granting concessions and that the Fair Play principle will be respected in both the employer – employee and employer – City Hall relationships. The Better Job Now program functions on three levels. The first is the mentioned Fair Play program dedicated to entrepreneurs. The second level means projects that help improve the qualifications of people seeking for a better job and focusing on their development. associating employers and potential employees, with particular emphasis on graduates and students of technical and vocational schools in Częstochowa.

In Częstochowa, students of technical and vocational schools today have the opportunity to study in classes profiled to meet the needs of the labour market. For this reason, most activities related to technical and vocational schools are involved – in addition to the Education Department of the City Hall – also the Department of European Funds and Development, more specifically the Investor Assistance Center, which also serves as the Center for Better Workplaces.

Besides the fields which are the most popular in the country like mechatronics or IT specialist, also tailors, upholsterers, carpenters and crane technicians are coming back to favours.

The novelty is – created as part of the Professional Cooperation 2 project – a glass technology technician created to meet the needs of existing glass factories here. From the 2019/2020 school year, a mechatronic innovation was created in one of the school teams, and the closest watchmaking school is located in Vienna.

In the opinion of employers, the working culture of Częstochowa is very high, and industrial traditions, often cultivated from generation to generation, resulting in qualified employees of heavy industry and service industries.

Author: A. Mielczarek Translation: M. Wytrzymała

More information:

The cooperation of entrepreneurs with schools on secondary and higher levels is the only chance to educate qualified staff. The task of the local government is to create a platform for understanding these dependent areas. The situation on the labour market in Częstochowa is good, the unemployment rate is 3% – below the average in the Sile sian Voivodeship. One of such projects is the “Academy of Competence Development”. The third level is the Center for Better Workplaces operating since May 2017, which also includes the website of the same name. The website is a platform that connects secondary schools, entrepreneurs and residents who want to change or find a job. It is a website that is a local job offer bank, career office and platform

Investor Assistance Center Department of European Funds and Development City Hall of Częstochowa Waszyngtona 5 Street, 42-217 Częstochowa Phone: +48 34 3707 212, +48 34 3707 213 e-mail: coi@czestochowa.um.gov.pl, fer@czestochowa.um.gov.pl www.czestochowa.pl