ČR faces labor shortage in vocational fields

The Czech Republic needs more workers with practical skills and more workers in the engineering industry, a national study revealed.  

A joint study conducted by the Industry and Trade Ministry and the Czech Chamber of Commerce (HK ČR), showed that the greatest demand for workers was in technical fields, mainly in the engineering sector, while the food, transport and the textile industries are recording a decline in employment rates.

While the engineering sector is growing rapidly, a trend toward attending management schools, as opposed to technical schools, which started in the 1990s, has led to a lack of professional skills and trades, which was first observed in the late '90s, said Stanislava Mariášová, director of Project and Education at HK ČR.

"The curriculum current students are learning at school doesn't match up to the practical need that employers are looking for, which is what we are trying to highlight," she added.

A large portion of students choose to study at universities without considering the industries that have the highest job demand in the Czech Republic, according to the HK ČR's findings. Many study humanities or history, while students who concentrate on technology or engineering are minimal.

"There is no interest in these subjects within society," Mariášová said.

There is an overall lack of understanding of particular industries, mainly technology, which could be linked to the lack of interest from students, Mariášová said.

"Community understanding of what is going on in specific areas is really missing," she added. "There should be technology centers and museums open to everyone so people can see what is going on and learn and know what is happening within that region," she said.

In December 2011, HK ČR and the ministry jointly organized a conference to focus on employer needs in human resources development and vocational education, to discuss ways to strengthen links between businesses and vocational institutions.

"Employers or business people specializing in technology should start visiting schools; they need to raise interest," Mariášová said.

While some big firms invest in training potential employees and recruiting students straight from schools, small and midsized businesses are less able to do this, she said.

"It is quite expensive to do, and it's not just a question of money, but also time, as someone has to create induction programs and invest in training," she said.

A project promoting work experience and traineeships within companies has been proposed to the government but hasn't been signed off on yet.

Another central problem the study found was that graduates are not prepared when it comes to finding employment.

"They're not prepared for the interview process. They need to be taught practical skills, like how to behave within an organization, how to be independent and how to prepare for the interview process," Mariášová said. "That's one of the biggest problems; it's costly for employers to employ school-leavers and have to completely re-educate them."

Engineering and electrotechnical companies indicated it is necessary to fight the trend and the expected future shortage of well-educated specialists, Pavel Vlček from the ministry said.

The lack of technically educated employees is becoming an urgent problem in the labor market, Vlček said.

"The ministry believes it is a key matter to maximally strengthen the cooperation between employers and schools, so the graduates will know what companies are asking for and so there will be enough of such graduates," he added.

-Filip Šenk contributed to this report.

Laura Burgoine can be reached at
lburgoine@praguepost.com