In his opening address at the 15th festival for vocational schools in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said skilled labor has a future in Hungary, and “those with knowledge, skills and the courage to use them will have nothing to fear in harder times."
At the opening of the Szakma Sztár festival, PM Orbán said voters in the recent general election had endorsed the government’s achievements in vocational training over the past twelve years. In cooperation with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), the government has expanded dual vocational training schemes involving apprenticeships with large companies, established training centres and set up a grant system for vocational students, he said.
The government has also taken steps to boost digitalization as well as making the acquisition of the first two vocational diplomas free of charge. Thanks to such efforts, Hungary currently has 250,000 students in vocational training, demand for skilled work is growing, and entrepreneurship is becoming more lucrative and popular, he said. “If we do our jobs well, Hungary can emerge strengthened” from the fallout of the war in Ukraine, which followed on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, PM Orbán said. New factories and production centres have sprung up in the country which welcome skilled workers and the government has introduced tax benefits for young people entering the labour market and for companies employing them, he said. Raising a family and purchasing and building a home are also subsidised. Orbán also praised teachers, saying that the international and domestic achievements of Hungarian skilled workers was proof of the excellence of their teachers in the field.
Photo credit: MTI