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1. Forecasting system(s)

2. Skills development

Forecasting system(s)

Skills forecasting in the Czech Republic was part of the analytical and survey activities of the National Institute for Education (NUV) which employed several methods of forecasting. In 2022, part of the agency migrated to the new National Pedagogy Institute of the Czech Republic and parts related to the labour market underwent the competence to the Ministry of Social Affairs and its activities. 

The project Labour Market Forecasting (2017-2022) created a sustainable system of labour market forecasting and monitoring, which links the national and regional levels and whose results reflect the significant impacts of technological trends on the labour market and the specifics of regional development. The results been integrated into a system which is still in use.

The project was designed primarily in response to the requirement to have a system for forecasting labour market changes, including forecasting skill needs. The outputs provided by the forecasting system thus represent one of the important tools for supporting the functioning of the labour market in a market economy.

The project offered a uniquely comprehensive source of information and data on the labour market and represented a quality support system for strategic decision-making by ministries. It targeted the impacts related to the development of activities within the trend of digitalization and robotization, collectively referred to as Industry 4.0 and Work 4.0. For career advisors, the project enabled them to direct their recommendations towards their clients on the basis of high-quality predictions on labour market developments at the regional and national levels. Last but not least, the project offered more effective targeting and content of retraining programmes according to analyses of the current state and forecasts of the labour market at the regional level.

Taking into account the above, it can be summarised that the project offered a solution to the following issues:

• Lack of regional information for mapping, analysing and modelling the labour market (including the development of key sectors, industries and occupations) in the regions.
• The lack of a system for implementing the outputs of these activities into education, innovation and development policies in the regions.
• The lack of a regional dimension in forecasting and medium-term analysis, which is crucial in the context of low labour mobility.
• Disparity between the quantitative and qualitative supply and demand of graduates for the labour market.

A special section on the needs and position of school absolvents at the labour market is devoted within the National Pedagogy Institute, the Infoabsolvent. The main focus of this section is in:

• Analyzing and informing on structures of pupils and graduates, educational programs, educational offer of schools;
• The needs of the labour market, employing school graduates in the labour market;
• Graduates transition from school to the labour market and to tertiary education;
• Barriers in the transition to the labour market;
• Career counselling.

There are also initiatives in the social affairs and employment fields to predict the needs of the labour market in the future. However, the only publicly available prognosis is that made in 2010 for the period 2011-2015 based on project funding.

National Register of Qualifications is a part of the skills forecasting system. It provides an overview of nationally recognised vocational qualifications in the Czech Republic, which can be obtained by validation of non-formal and informal learning. The qualifications are based on the skills required by specific jobs in the labour market. In 2015, 921 qualifications were certified (NUV 2016).

The coordination system of skills forecasting is based on advisory and professional groups between creators of educational programmes, employers, and other relevant institutions which enhance cross-sectoral cooperation. At the national level, 25 groups coordinated by the National Institute for Education were in operation.

Skills development

The forecasting system is linked and followed by the curriculum-creating system, and by the Framework Educational Programme.

The National Register of Qualifications has opened new possibilities for apprentices to gain formal recognition and qualification of their skills and competences. The implementation of the whole system is continuing. 

In the field of non-formal and informal learning, two projects on the competences in the youth sector have been realised – Keys for life and K2 - Quality and Competitiveness (for details see Chapter 2 ). The two projects supported cooperation between non-formal education providers and employers, and new qualifications for the National Register from the youth field have been established.

Public initiatives to support skills development

To support technical skills development in public, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports together with the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic introduced the initiative Year of Technical Education and Industry 2015. 

Czech Republic is also working, since 2017, on increasing employer participation in VET. 

• Schools now have to involve employers in the education by:
• Consulting employers on drafts of school curricula;
• Engaging employers in shaping conceptual plans for school development;
• Ensuring part of practical training is implemented at the premises of employers authorised to perform activities related to the relevant field of education;
• Allowing participation of experts from practice in theoretical training at school;
• Allowing participation of experts from practice in the profile part of ´maturita´(the examination that concludes secondary education (level 3 in the ISCED international classification). It consists of a national part, which is the same for all students in the republic, and a profile part, which is provided by specific schools);
• Securing, in cooperation with the employers, continuing education and internships for teaching staff of theoretical and practical training at employers