Budimex signs a cooperation agreement with the Railway Engineering College in Warsaw
As part of actions addressed to students of secondary schools, Budimex signed a cooperation agreement with the Railway Engineering College (Technikum Kolejowe) in Warsaw on 2 March 2023. The cooperation is planned to include joint efforts in the field of science and engineering, and training projects. The largest Polish construction contractor will open up for graduates of the College and create new career opportunities.
And that is a huge opportunity. By 2030, the retrofitting and new construction projects for the railway system will reach 100 billion PLN! In the coming years, there will be dozens of highest-ranked graduates and students of the College in vocational training.
The cooperation between Budimex as a Technical Partner and the Railway Engineering College in Warsaw is primarily focused on mutual support that will include organisation and participation in conferences and scientific and engineering lectures, and holding Open Days on selected projects carried out by Budimex as the general contractor.
This is part of a larger program titled “Ucz się i buduj praktykę” (Learn and Build Practice). Under the program, Budimex has begun close cooperation with dozens of technical colleges across Poland. Students of engineering colleges will improve their knowledge in cooperation with experienced engineers from different fields and have the opportunity to enrol for internships in more than 200 construction projects implemented by Budimex in Poland and abroad.
Budimex has been actively involved in the educational development of young people through individual dedicated projects for many years. To understand the future plans of students of construction engineering colleges and develop their competences, Budimex has also entered into cooperation with the Zwolnieni z Teorii foundation. Budimex and the foundation have toured schools across the country together and developed a proprietary learning program “Praktyka, która z Tobą zostanie” (Hands-On Learning for Lifelong Vocation). Among other actions of Budimex, the Budimex Startup Challenge was also a great success; a project addressed to innovative enterprises and young technology companies offering products, services and solutions in power engineering, renewable energy sources and sustainable construction technologies. Moreover, Budimex began cooperation with the students of a Cracow secondary school who had won a competition from the European Space Agency.
Budumex has also been supporting the education development of students in industry for more than ten years by providing paid internships as part of the Budimex Academy project (Akademia Budimex). On March the 1st, another, reinvented version of this internship program was launched for 2023 under the motto “Praktyka jest miarą sukcesu” (Practice is the measure of success). Like every year, the general contractor opened 250 places for students from all over Poland. Construction engineering students aside, the program is also addressed to people looking for internships in other areas, like HR, finance and IT.
Growth prospects in the railway sector
Railway projects are one of the key elements of the growth of the Polish transport infrastructure. The basic investment project program on the railway market is Krajowy Program Kolejowy (KPK, National Railway Program) which sees annual updates and renewals (with the latest in December 2022). Currently, work is underway on the update of KPK for the 2021–2027 horizon, which includes planned projects up to 2030. The planned projects amount to more than 100 billion PLN. The target sources of funding are the EU Cohesion Fund, the CEF and the National Reconstruction Program (KPO). The plans assume the assignment of 11 billion PLN from KPO to KPK projects. While waiting for EU funding, it is likely that there will be pre-financing by the PFR (National Development Fund). The Kolej+ program detailed by 2029 corroborates that the Polish railway projects will depend on EU projects. Another program for which Budimex has been shortlisted by prequalification is Rail Baltica in Latvia.
Currently, one of the major challenges for the railway sector is a large generational gap in competitions relevant to railway traffic safety, an answer to which is the commitment of Budimex to cooperation with the Railway Engineering College in Warsaw.
Budimex is one of the leaders in railway construction in Poland. The company is currently undertaking such contracts as the new Warszawa Zachodnia station, one of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA’s largest investment projects. The General Contractor is also responsible for the construction of the Gdynia Port railway station, the Ełk railway station, and the Czechowice-Dziedzice station. In the past two years, Budimex also completed the upgrades of the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, the E59 Rokietnica-Wronki railway section and the E30 Trzebinia-Krzeszowice railway section.