Information on the Lifelong Guidance System in the Czech Republic
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Information on the Lifelong Guidance System in the Czech Republic
Information on Lifelong Guidance System in the Czech Republic Published by the Centre for International Cooperation in Education for Euroguidance, Prague 2018
Content
[1] Summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 2
[2] Key Challenges Addressed by Guidance�������������������������������������� 3
[3] Key Data, Statistics �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9
[4] Legal Basis / Policies�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12
[5] Main Bodies, their Scope of Action,
Infrastructure�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16
[6] Public Awareness, Funding,
ICT in Guidance ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21
[7] Sectoral Approaches������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 23
[8] Quality Assurance��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28
[9] Guidance Research ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32
[10] Partnerships at EU
and at International Level������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 34
[1] Summary
T
here are two main bodies responsible ing Decree,6 and other related legislation,
for career guidance and counselling in career guidance and counselling services for
the Czech Republic: the Ministry of people requiring assistance in employment
Education, Youth and Sports (Ministerstvo matters are provided by the Labour Office of
školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy) and the Ministry the Czech Republic (Úřad práce České republiky,
of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerstvo ÚP) and private employment agencies (agentura
práce a sociálních věcí). Both ministries operate práce).
networks providing day-to-day career guidance
and counselling. The activities of both these guidance
systems are merged to provide counselling
From the school level up to the tertiary profes- services to pupils leaving primary and second-
sional level, career guidance and counselling ary school. To a certain extent, both guidance
services are regulated by the Education Act,1 systems use the same work procedures and
the Government Decree on the Provision of sources of information. Although the official
Counselling Services in Schools and School documents do not specifically state that this
Guidance Facilities,2 the Act on Teaching should be an integrated system of guidance
Staff3 and other related legislation. Career services, the basis for such a system is being
guidance and counselling for pupils and stu- unsystematically, but progressively, developed
dents is provided directly at schools and school in both sectors.
guidance facilities. These provide standard
guidance services free of charge on the request In addition to the Labour Office, other actors
of pupils, their legal representatives, schools or provide careers advice for adults, including
educational facilities. NGOs, employer associations and private
employment agencies. A wide range of ser-
Under the Higher Education Act4, universities vices for specific target groups is provided by
are required to provide candidates, students non-governmental organisations and funded by
and other persons with information and coun- different sources, mainly on a temporary basis
selling services relating to their studies and to (e.g. the European Social Fund, the European
employment opportunities for graduates of Lifelong Learning Programme, etc.). Career
study programmes. Most public universities counselling projects funded by EU sources have
provide this service through in-house Career been expanded where delivered by external
Counselling Centres. specialists, however these are not always well
linked with other services and for the most part
Under the Employment Act,5 the Implement- they operate independently of the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of
Labour and Social Affairs. Awareness of their ac-
1 ct No. 561/2004 Coll., on pre-school, basic,
A tivities is therefore fragmentary. However, those
secondary, tertiary professional and other edu- activities have contributed to the development
cation (the Education Act) of career guidance/counselling in the Czech
2 ecree No. 72/2005 Coll., on the provision of
D Republic and have created a need for regulation
counselling services in schools and school of the whole range of career counselling ser-
guidance facilities. vices as a profession, with its own professional
3 Act No. 563/2004 Coll., on teaching staff.
standards and training.
4 S ection 22 (d) of the Act on higher education
institutions No. 111/1998 Coll.
6 ecree No. 518/2004 Coll., implementing Act
D
5 Act No. 345/2004 Coll. on employment. No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment.
2
[2] Key Challenges Addressed
by the Guidance System
2.1 Employment rate local differences in the unemployment rate
within the country. In 2015 the proportion of
long-term unemployment represented 47,3%.
In 2016, the employment rate of the Czech Re- A high proportion of long-term unemployment
public was 72% that of the EU-28 (for the pop- is closely related to the structural unemploy-
ulation aged 15-64 OECD Economic Surveys: ment issues.8 An unemployment rate was 4,0%.
Czech Republic 2016). The higher employment
rate is mostly related to lower unemployment,
while activity rates in the CR are at the same
level as in the EU-28. The employment rate of 2.2 Industries
young people has been declining due to their
increasing participation in ISCED 3A upper-sec- The structure of the Czech economy changed
ondary education and tertiary education. In considerably after 1989. The proportion of agri-
contrast, the employment rate of people aged culture and heavy industry has decreased and,
50–64 is increasing as a consequence of the conversely, the share taken up by the service
gradual postponement of the retirement age. sector has grown. As compared to the EU-28,
the proportion of manufacturing in the Czech
Compared to the EU-28, the Czech Republic Republic is significantly higher in terms of gross
shows a larger difference between the rate of value added and employment. The figures for
employment of men and women, and this dif- the business service sector are still lower in the
ference has been hovering at a stable level. The Czech Republic, but rapidly growing.
main reasons are the lower retirement age for
women, the long period of maternity and paren- A large proportion of industry has a long tradi-
tal leave in comparison with other EU countries tion, dating back to the end of the 19th century,
and a low proportion of flexible types of work and so has the related vocational education.
(such as part-time work, homeworking etc.). The communist regime strongly supported the
development of heavy industry in particular.
The numbers of early school leavers in the Following its transition to a market economy,
Czech Republic are lower than in the EU-28. the CR became the target of extensive foreign
(according to the EU Labour Force Survey, it is investment – particularly in the automotive
6% in 2016.7 However employment opportuni- industry and electrical engineering. Foreign
ties for people who leave the education system investors found a combination of a high level
before getting a qualification are far worse. of technical education on the part of the labour
force and low labour costs. The growing labour
Long-term unemployment constitutes a ma- costs in the Czech Republic had a negative
jor problem within the context of the Czech effect on employment in some industries
labour market. Furthermore, there are important where the spatial proximity of suppliers is not
so important a factor (e.g. the textile industry).
The economic recession, which began in 2008,
7 S ee glossary term: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.
eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Glossary:Early_
leaver_from_education_and_training, and more
statistics: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/ 8 ttp://refernet.cz/sites/default/files/download/
h
show.do?dataset=edat_lfse_14&lang=en. vet_2013_cz_cr.pdf
3mainly impacted manufacturing and construc-
tion, while employment in the service sector
2.4 Skills gaps
grew even during the crisis. During the recovery
period some manufacturing branches started A survey was carried out under the VIP Career II
to grow as well (e.g. metal products, machin- – Career Counselling project, entitled “Pro-
ery, automotive, repair and installation) and in fessions and occupations that employers
2012 the proportion of manufacturing was only need”.10 The survey identified those professions
slightly under the level of 2008. or occupations where companies encountered
on the one hand a lack of workers and on the
other a lack of good quality young workers and
occupations they felt to be promising for the
2.3 Demographic future. The questionnaire survey was carried
balance out among employers in industry (secondary
sector), in services (tertiary sector), in the qua-
ternary sector and in agriculture.
The Czech Republic covers an area of 78 900 km2
and the population was 10.6 million as of 2016. The results of the survey show that a total of
The total population is expected to keep increas- 69% of respondents find that there is a shortage
ing until 2018 due to growing life expectancy, of workers in certain professions in the industrial
before subsequently starting to decline. Like most sector, 54% in the tertiary sector and 41% in the
countries in Europe, the Czech Republic is facing quaternary sector.
the problem of population ageing. The propor-
tion of the 65+ age group is due to increase from At the same time, the greatest problem in rela-
the current 16% to 24% by 2030 and will continue tive terms concerns organisations operating in
to grow thereafter. The total size of the economi- the building sector (which is paradoxical as the
cally active population is already in decline. data analysis of unemployment in school-leav-
ers shows a high level of unemployment in
Population ageing will have consequences for school leavers trained in building professions),
education and training systems. The role followed by companies providing catering and
of adult education and training will increase accommodation services (where the unem-
considerably and at the same time schools ployment rate for trained school-leavers is also
(especially the basic and secondary schools) above average), as well as in the area of infor-
will face the problem of low numbers of young mation and communication activities.
students.
Although the proportion of young people in the
population is decreasing over the long term, in 2.5 Strengths and
the medium term there is a strong population
surge of children born between 2002 and 2008. weaknesses of the
For a certain period of time, this population surge
will place increased demands on the capacity of
current career guidance
primary education (peaking in 2020) as well as
on secondary education (peaking in 2027).9
and counselling system
2. 5. 1 in the educational
sector
10 ww.infoabsolvent.cz/Temata/ClanekAbsol-
w
9 ttp://refernet.cz/sites/default/files/download/
h venti/4-1-10/Profese-a-obory-ktere-zamestna-
vet_2013_cz_cr.pdf vatele-potrebuji/26
42. 5. 1.1 in schools up to the tertiary
professional level
Strengths
The legislative basis for school counselling
services, defining their standard activities;
distributing the performance of counselling ser-
vices between the school and school guidance
facilities, which have the relevant professionals
and diagnostic tools and methods, and which
generally serve a number of schools in any one
region.
Weaknesses
Insufficient capacity of educational counselling
to cover all standard operations, over-concen-
tration of different types of tasks to be carried
out by an educational counsellor, the insuffi-
cient capacity of most school guidance facilities,
the regions’ responsibility for educational coun-
selling and methodological guidance from the
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS),
which is not carried out to a sufficient extent,
the non-systemic participation of counsellors in
further education.
2. 5. 1.2 in higher education 2. 5. 2 in the employment
institutions
sector
Strengths
A legislative basis that gives higher education Labour market information is provided in
institutions the freedom to choose which schools in cooperation with the local Infor-
guidance and counselling services are provided, mation and Counselling Centres schools also
active cooperation between higher education usually organise a number of visits for students
counselling centres under the Association to the centres. The services in these centres are
of university guidance counsellors (Asociace dependent on the numbers of individual
vysokoškolských poradců). counsellors and centres are facing capacity
problems due to staff reductions.
Weaknesses
Non-systemic financial and material support As for career planning support for adults,
from the state and higher education institutions the Labour Office specialises in counselling for
themselves, inadequate staffing. the unemployed. Career counselling is seen
as inadequate due to the lack of a systemat-
ic framework and staffing deficiencies and
its availability is generally uncoordinated. In
both the regions surveyed by the case study,
fewer than one quarter of the newly registered
unemployed receive counselling during the first
few months after they begin claiming benefits.
5Five months after becoming unemployed, an has not yet been completed. This system is
individualised action plan is developed for each linked to the National Register of Vocational
jobseeker. The number of people receiving Qualifications.11
counselling varies according the composition
of the registered unemployed and depends on
the capacity of the public employment services 2. 5. 2.1 provided by the public
(PES). The PES run a web-based national job employment services
matching service, which enables a jobseeker to
select from vacancies notified to the public em-
ployment services. In addition, personal face- Strengths
to-face counselling and placement services are The legislative basis of counselling services
available at some local labour offices, although at labour offices12 as part of the active
these are intended mainly for jobs requiring low employment policy measures, which can
to medium skills as very few of the registered be purchased from an external supplier, the
vacancies are for high skilled jobs. availability of counselling services, which are
free of charge, focussing on a wide spectrum
Since January 2013, the Ministry of Labour and of clients, qualifications, expertise, profession-
Social Affairs has sought to provide better and alism and the high level of motivation of coun-
more extensive career advice and assistance, selling practitioners, the range and quality of
not only to jobseekers but also to employers, the guidance services provided, cooperation
municipalities and social partners. Better com- with other departments and social partners,
munication and information transfer between the existence of an autonomous counselling
the local contact offices and the regional department, the technical and IT background
branches of the Labour Office and employers for the counselling department, Information
is expected to increase vacancy notifications. and Counselling Centres and their central
A new methodology and standards of work are support functions.13
being developed for better counselling services
and more funding has been made available. Weaknesses
The lack of a career system, systematic further
In 2012, the profession “career counsellors” (ka- vocational education, insufficient staffing, no
riérový poradce), was included in the National guarantee for the quality of the counselling
Register of Occupations (Národní soustava services, supervision, increased bureaucra-
povolání, NSP); this covers four types of position, cy, insufficient time to work with clients, an
which are more specifically detailed, although accumulation of functions, no unification of
evaluation standards for these professions are methods and approaches to client-oriented
still needed. Hopefully, once these standards work, significant differences between labour of-
have been incorporated into the National Reg- fices: in the organisation of client-oriented work,
ister of Vocational Qualifications (Národní in the numbers of clients per staff member, in
soustava kvalifikací, NSK), a training programme terms of technical equipment and office space,
for career counsellors will be developed. To an administrative approach to elaboration of
date, no formal training has been established the individual action plan, underestimation of
for career counsellors.
Job profiles are mapped at the national level by 11 ww.skillsforemployment.org/KSP/en/Details/?d-
w
sector councils and described in the National n=WCMSTEST4_116649
Register of Occupations – a database that 12 Act No. 345/2004 Coll. on employment
has provided information about labour market
13 FREIBERGOVÁ, Z. Informačně-poradenské služby
needs by describing the generic and profession- veřejných služeb zaměstnanosti podporující pra-
al competencies of occupations since 2007. It covní uplatnění občanů: popis stávajícího a návrh
has been developed through a series of projects nového modelu. Praha: Národní vzdělávací fond,
financed from the European Social Fund and 2008.
6the importance of guidance and counselling er developing tools (e.g. early assessment,
within the labour office: counsellors are seen as profiling), organisational changes (setting client
office workers, a lack of coherence between the zones) and additional resources (staff numbers,
world of work and education – career choice, training, additional funds).
an incomplete offer of vacancies, insufficient
support for the exchange of experience and Other actors such as private agencies or NGOs
good practice in cooperation with clients and can play a more significant role in the delivery
employers. of counselling services to specific target groups.
For example, the new Regional Information
and Education Centre in the South Moravian
region could be used as a nationwide model
2.6 Key challenges to address the needs of adults and promote
addressed by guidance continuing education activities. Greater cooper-
ation between career counselling providers at
in the Czech context the regional level would be beneficial in making
such services more accessible for various adult
groups and mapping their provision.
The OECD report on Employment and Skills
Strategies in the Czech Republic is specific Job profiles are mapped at the national level by
about the various challenges facing career guid- sector councils and described in the National
ance and recommends supporting the devel- Register of Occupations. The National Register
opment of a career counselling system for of Vocational Qualifications recognises skills and
youth and adults and promoting greater competencies and the certification of skills is
cooperation among career counselling important in terms of career mobility. It is im-
stakeholders. portant to strengthen this link between labour
market needs (defined by employers) and the
An effective career counselling system should qualifications being developed through the
assess individuals’ acquired skills and propose National Register of Occupations.
ways of enhancing or acquiring new ones. Ca-
reer guidance in the Czech Republic is seen as To ensure financial sustainability, there is a need
inadequate for both young people and adults. to acknowledge guidance and counselling as
Educational counsellors tend to have limited an integral part of education and employment
knowledge of current labour market needs and services and set up conditions and capacity for
job profiles. Career support for youth in schools the provision of quality guidance and counsel-
needs quality assurance mechanisms, adequate ling services.
resources and more systematic cooperation
with LOs and other institutions in acquiring The National Guidance Forum has formu-
labour market information. lated the following goals to ensure a solid and
stable basis for guidance and to set out educa-
The labour offices can play a significant role in tional and employment strategies:
career advice. Since early 2013, the Ministry of
Labour and Social Affairs has sought to provide —— to recognise the importance of lifelong
better and more extensive career advice and as- guidance as a tool for decreasing unem-
sistance to jobseekers, employers, municipalities ployment rate and supporting social justice.
and social partners, and to improve communi-
cation between local contact offices. —— to promote awareness of the benefits of
guidance and counselling in the potential
While addressing the development of career target group.
guidance will be a long term challenge for
the Czech Republic, the increased emphasis —— to establish conditions for functional coop-
is welcomed. The government could consid- eration between the main public bodies
7dealing with counselling and other relevant educational and guidance centres have been
associations, institutions, and organisations established. These projects have been funded
as well as with other guidance subjects. by different financial sources, mainly fully or
Closer links between counselling services partly co-financed by European funds such as
leading to easier orientation for clients. the ESF, LLP (Lifelong Learning Programme)
etc. – the number of those activities varies over
—— to provide access to guidance services for time.
all citizens during their life span; this access
is related to better promotion of guidance
services for particular target groups as well
as to their accessibility (local, financial, etc.).
—— better implementation of projects carried
out in the field of guidance and counselling.
—— to set up quality education and further
training for counsellors. Moreover, (future)
teachers need to be trained in career devel-
opment.
—— to ensure the quality of service provision.
—— to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of
guidance services.
—— career education and career guidance need
to focus on the development of Career
Management Skills.
Statistics for the education system are collect-
ed by the Ministry of Education Youth and
Sports. The guidance and counselling services
at schools and school facilities up to the tertiary
professional level are evaluated by the Czech
School Inspectorate (Česká školní inspekce).
Both the Labour Office and educational institu-
tions have their own methods of monitoring/
evaluation.
Some NGOs have either developed their own
system of monitoring/evaluation or have
transferred proven methods from abroad (e.g.
SROI – Social Return on Investment, SRS – Social
Reporting Standard, MSC – Most Significant
Change). Since 2007, a number of new projects
focusing on the development of career coun-
selling services for different target groups have
emerged. These projects are run by a variety
of actors, e.g. schools, universities, the Labour
Office, non-profit organisations, employers,
trade unions and the private sector. Many new
8[3] Key Data, Statistics
3.1 Monitoring / plans is the system of guidance and counselling
services. One of the deficiencies of the above
evaluation of career mentioned decree is the fact that it does not
require individual schools to include a chapter
guidance and on educational counselling in the annual report
counselling in the on the school’s activities. In their self-evaluation,
schools describe the manner in which support
educational sector is provided to pupils and students and how
they cooperate with parents, but not how they
actually perform educational counselling.
3. 1. 1 at schools up to
tertiary professional level The guidance and counselling services provided
at schools up to the tertiary professional level
and school guidance facilities are one the
A decree16 based on the Education Act17 subjects of evaluation by the Czech School
requires the MEYS to prepare a long-term Inspectorate (Česká školní inspekce, ČŠI). It
plan for education and the development is primarily activities carried out within the
of the education system in the CR every framework of the educational process that are
3 years, which provides a basis for the drafting evaluated.
of a long-term plan by each of the 14 regions.
One of the strategic focuses of these long-term See table № 1
table № 1:1415Number of pupils / students, schools and approximate estimation of the school educational
guidance counsellors (school year 2016/2017)16
Number of School
Tertiary
Basic Secondary
professional Total
schools schools
schools
pupils / students 906 188 424 805 21 994 1 352 987
schools 4 140 1 307 168 5 615
classes 45 116 19 380 904 65 400
school educational 6 500 practitioners (including - -
guidance counsellors 4 000 educational counsellors,
(estimation of persons) special needs teachers and
psychologists)
14 ecree No. 15/2005 Coll., laying down the requirements for long-term aims, annual reports and the
D
self-evaluation of schools
15 ct No. 561/2004 Coll., on pre-school, basic, secondary, tertiary professional and other education (the
A
Education Act)
16 http://vdb.czso.cz
93. 1. 2 at higher education institutions must be accredited by the Ministry
of Education, Youth and Sports.
institutions
See table № 2
Most higher education guidance and coun-
selling centres report on their activities to the
management of the higher education institu-
3. 1. 3 within non-formal
tion in which they operate. In addition, counsel- vocational education and
ling centres are monitored by the Association
of university guidance counsellors (Asociace training
vysokoškolských poradců)17, which is classified
as an association under the Civil Code and The provision of career guidance and counsel-
has no authority over either these centres or ling within non-formal vocational education
higher education institutions. Higher education and training is not monitored or evaluated.
table № 2: Number of students, higher education institutions and career guidance and counselling
centres (2016/2017) 17
Number of Higher education institution
Public
and state Private Total
BA students 157 912 23 150 181 062
MA students 103 096 8 314 111 410
PhD students 23 177 88 23 265
total students 284 185 31 552 315 737
higher education institutions 26 41 67
career guidance and counselling 72 2 74
centres
17 www.asociacevsp.cz/
103.2 Monitoring / 3. 2. 2 provided by private
evaluation of career employment agencies
guidance and Yearly as of 31st January, private employment
counselling in the agencies registered by the MLSA are required
to submit an overview of their activities for the
employment sector previous year to the General Directorate of the
Labour Office. The overview provides neither
the number of persons nor the methods of
3. 2. 1 provided by public providing guidance counselling services.
employment services
The Labour Office covers 14 regional offices and
about 225 contact points. Every labour office
has established and tuns an Information and
Counselling Centre (ICC). There are 79 ICC in the
country as a whole, providing career counsel-
ling to pupils (in cooperation with schools) and
adults (unemployed and other citizens). During
the first half of 2014, ICC provided services to
more than 370 thousand clients.
Career guidance and counselling provided by
public employment services is monitored and
evaluated by the General Directorate of the
Labour Office (Generální ředitelství Úřadu práce
České republiky, GŘ ÚP). One of monitoring tools
is a national system of monitoring indicators. It
also includes performance indicators for guid-
ance counselling involving job brokering and
performance indicators for special guidance.
The General Directorate of the Labour Office
also monitors the International PES Benchmark-
ing indicators18 recommended by the European
Commission.
Furthermore, organisations operating as “regis-
tered social services providers” provide career
counselling and they are guided by standards,
which also regulate monitoring/evaluation
processes (in the Quality Standards of Social
Services19).
18 www.pes-benchmarking.eu/
19 ww.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/11911/vyhlas-
w
ka_505-2006.pdf
11[4] Legal Basis / Policies
4.1 Legislation career progression. Teaching staff responsible
for guidance services at schools up to tertiary
governing the professional level include:
educational sector —— educational counsellors,
The Czech education system operates in —— school prevention specialists,
accordance with the Education Act (561/2004,
in force since 2005) which regulates education —— school psychologists,
from pre-primary to upper secondary and ter-
tiary professional and school services, including —— special needs teachers.
guidance and counselling, the Act on Teaching
Staff (563/2004, in force since 2005) and the Their activities include assistance in preventing
Decree on in-service training of teaching staff pupil failure, dealing with socially pathological
(317/2005) which regulate the teaching profes- phenomena, support for pupils with special
sion at the same levels of education. Details on educational needs and special talent and career
guidance and counselling are set out in Decree guidance. Schools can work with educational
No. 72/2005. and psychological guidance services or (in the
case of disabled children) special educational
The Act on Pre-school, Basic, Secondary centres.23
and Tertiary Professional Education20 sets
out the principles and aims of education and The Act on Institutional Education or
the education system – composed of schools, Protective Education in the Provision of
which organise education according to frame- Schooling and on Preventive Educational
work educational programmes, and school Care24 stipulates the requirements for the
facilities, which provide education and services education of children and adolescents lacking
complementing or supporting education at proper family support or those with behav-
schools. The Act also regulates the administra- ioural problems and for children with judicially
tion: the legal status of schools, their registra- ordered institutional or imposed juvenile
tion, financing, status and responsibilities of detention.25
different levels of administration, e.g. munici-
palities, regions, and the Ministry of Education, Higher education is regulated by the Higher
Youth and Sports, or other relevant ministries.21 Education Act (111/1998), in force since 1999.
Public higher education institutions are bound
The Act on Teaching Staff and on amend- by the Act to provide counselling services.
ments to certain Acts22 regulates require-
ments for the performance of educational
staff’s duties, their in-service training and
23 T he Education System in the Czech Republic.
MEYS. Prague. 2012
20 ct No. 561/2004 Coll., on pre-school, basic,
A
secondary and tertiary professional and other 24 ct No. 109/2002 Coll., on institutional care
A
education (the Education Act) or protective care in school facilities and on
preventive care in school facilities and on
21 T he Education System in the Czech Republic. amendments to other Acts.
MEYS. Prague. 2012.
25 The Education System in the Czech Republic.
22 Act No. 563/2004 Coll., on teaching staff. MEYS. Prague. 2012
12The Higher Education Act26 amended several of qualification of natural persons in order to
times, extended the non-university and private choose a career, to broker a suitable employ-
sectors of higher education. The majority of ment, to select vocational training for disabled
these are no longer state institutions (with the persons and to choose suitable active employ-
exception of military and police higher educa- ment policy instruments.
tion institutions which are entirely state-fund-
ed) but public institutions (state-subsidised) In 2011, the Act on the Labour Office of the
that manage their own property and have Czech Republic and on amendments to re-
wide-ranging autonomy.27 lated Acts (Act No. 73/2011 Coll.) was adopted;
it institutes a General Directorate of the Labour
The Act on the Verification and Recogni- Office which is responsible for public employ-
tion of the Results of Further Education28 ment services (PES) in the Czech Republic.
opened up a new pathway for adults to obtain
a certificate for qualifications attained in prac- Despite of all existing legal basis providing an
tice without formal education.29 operating ground to guidance and counselling
services in the world of education and work,
terms such as “career guidance/counselling” and
“career counsellor” are not introduced in the
4.2 Legislation Czech legislation.
governing the
employment sector 4.3 Lifelong learning,
The Employment Act (Act No. 435/2004 employment and social
Coll.) regulates the provision of the state’s em-
ployment policy, the goal of which is to attain
inclusion strategies
full employment rate and to protect against
unemployment, fair treatment and ban on
and implications for
discrimination for persons asserting their right guidance
to employment, the activities performed by La-
bour office and their powers, the assessment of
natural persons’ health condition and healthcare The Czech Republic has striven to increase
providers’ cooperation with the assessment of the quality and accessibility of education by
their health condition, the right to employ- formulating new long term goals Education
ment. Active employment policy measures Policy Strategy of the Czech Republic for
also include counselling, which is provided or 202030. This comprehensive document strives,
organised by the Labour Offices for the purpose among other things, to overcome the problems
of determining the personal qualities and level resulting from the fragmentation of strategic
planning and management in the field of edu-
cation policy. From a conceptual point of view,
26 S ection 22 (d) the Act on Higher Education the strategy defines the basic priorities of the
Institutions No. 111/1998 Coll.
development of the educational system of the
27 T he Education System in the Czech Republic. Czech Republic to be followed by authorities
MEYS. Prague. 2012 and policy makers. The strategy is, in line with
28 ct No. 179/2006 Coll., on the verification and
A the Education & Training 2020 framework, based
recognition of the results of further education on the concept of lifelong learning aiming at
and on amendments to certain Acts (Act on the
recognition of further education results).
29 T he Education System in the Czech Republic. 30 ww.vzdelavani2020.cz/images_obsah/doku-
w
MEYS. Prague. 2012 menty/strategie-2020_web.pdf
13contributing to the achievement of the main administrative burden on businessmen
goals of education: personal development con- compared to 2005: 30%.
tributing to improving the quality of human life,
maintenance and development of culture as —— The national sub-goal for increasing labour
a system of shared values, development of ac- productivity compared to 2010: 20%.
tive citizenship creating conditions for a socially
cohesive society and democratic governance, —— The government of the Czech Republic will
and preparation for employment. The strategy present the Commission with a national
formulates three key priorities: goal of a ratio of university-educated peo-
ple between the ages of 30 and 34 of 32%.
1. to achieve the significant decrease in
inequality in the education system in the —— The government of the Czech Republic will
following years present the Commission with a national
goal of the ratio of students prematurely
2. to support teachers as the key prerequisite leaving educational institutions of 5.5%.
of a high-quality education system
Measures aimed at reaching those and other
3. to introduce effective and accountable priority targets are formulated annually in the
governance of the education system. National Reform Programme of the Czech
Republic among others, it includes support
for guidance and counselling within the
education and employment sector as well as
In relation to fulfilling the goals of the Europe need for close cooperation between these two
2020 Strategy, corresponding national goals areas. With regard to career guidance, employ-
of the Czech Republic were set. The main ers should be empowered to become more
targets for education and training and employ- involved and the relevance of education at the
ment, which should be achieved by 2020, have secondary and tertiary levels should increase in
been identified as: relation to demands of the labour market and
employers.
—— The government of the Czech Republic will
present the European Commission with
a national goal of an overall employment
level of 75%. 4.4 State of
—— The national sub-goal of employment implementation and
among women: 65%.
impact
—— The national sub-goal of employment
among older workers: 55%. The Czech Republic enjoys strong labour market
performance. Strong job creation has been the
—— The national sub-goal of decreasing the engine behind consistent improvement. In the
level of unemployment among young peo- first half of 2017, for the first time, total employ-
ple (15–24 years old): a one-third decrease ment exceeded 5 million. The employment rate
compared to 2010. has reached a record high of 78.9% in Q3 - 2017.
The overall level of employment is currently
—— The national sub-goal of decreasing the high, but certain disadvantaged groups remain
level of unemployment of persons with underrepresented in the labour market. These
low qualifications: A one-quarter decrease include parents with young children, low-skilled
compared to 2010. workers, people with disabilities and Roma. The
effectiveness of active labour market policies
—— The national sub-goal for decreasing the (ALMP) is low in general and particularly so for
14the low- skilled (38). On average, 1 in 5 people adoption of a comprehensive strategy for edu-
wanting to work participate in such schemes. cation. Young people from low socioeconomic
Overall, Czech investment in ALMP is highly backgrounds, including Roma, are shown to be
dependent on ESF funding. A lack of systematic less successful in education and on the labour
impact assessment and evaluation of ALMP market.
hampers transparency. The level of employ-
ment among young people is increasing, and
public employment services try to target their
services towards young people in particular.
The Labour Office of the Czech Republic (PES)
was reorganised in 2012 but no fundamental
changes were made to provide better support
for vulnerable groups. The lack of affordable and
quality childcare services and the limited use
of flexible working-time arrangements make it
difficult for women with children to participate
in the labour market. Steps have been taken
towards increasing the availability of childcare
but policies supporting public childcare for the
youngest children are still insufficient.
The quality and labour market relevance of
the Czech education system are a cause for
concern. The Czech Republic's educational
outcomes have improved in recent years but
structural challenges still remain. Participation
in tertiary education has increased rapidly, but
concerns have emerged in relation to the de-
cline in skills of younger tertiary education grad-
uates. The overdue higher education reform
adopted in 2016 will introduced institutional
accreditation. Other expected changes, mainly
concerning improvement of financing higher
education institutions were not included in the
amendment of the Higher Education Act. More
teachers need to be recruited into the compul-
sory education sector, but low salaries and a
negative perception of the profession make it
difficult to attract talented candidates. A new
career system designed to improve both the
recruitment of teachers and their professional
development was not approved by the Czech
Parliament.
A comprehensive approach to evaluating and
supporting low-performing schools and pupils
is, meanwhile, still lacking. The introduction of
such an approach could help improve efficiency
and equality in the education sector. Limited
progress has been made in making education
more inclusive, despite the Government's
15[5] Main Bodies, their Scope
of Action, Infrastructure
5.1 National authorities vzdělávání pedagogických pracovníků, NÚV)32.
influencing the The NÚV is public, non-profit organisation
managed directly by the MEYS. The main
provision of career tasks of the National Institute of Education
are: creation of framework of education-
guidance and al programmes, support in developing
schools educational programmes, further
counselling in the education for teachers and other peda-
gogical staff, pedagogical-psychological
educational sector counselling, career guidance, equal access
to education, acquisition of qualifications,
The Ministry of Education, Youth and comprehensive information about schools
Sports (Ministerstvo školství, mládeže and fields of study. In the past, it carried out
a tělovýchovy, MŠMT)31 MEYS maintains the inte- several projects dealing with guidance and
grated national educational policy by formu- counselling, e. g. UNIV2 Kraje33, VIP Kariéra34.
lating the long-term policy objectives (Dlou- The first phase of the VIP Kariéra project was
hodobý záměr vzdělávání a rozvoje vzdělávací primarily focused on the development and
soustavy). Above all, the MEYS is responsible for improvement of educational counselling
the planning, status and development of the at schools and school facilities. The second
education system, including the area of science, phase of the project was devoted to the
youth and sports, and for the state’s education development and use of an e-learning
financing policy – for producing the education programme to train guidance counsellors
budget and determining the principles for its and to develop a career guidance infor-
allocation. One of the strategic issues is also mation tool ISA+35. The system provides in-
a counselling system. The Ministry of Education formation on education and work employ-
accredits higher education institutions (ISCED ment possibilities of graduates and further
6–8) and their programmes. information supporting educationalist and
counsellors in their work. The Institute also
The Ministry of Education supervises a number runs the Centre for Career Counselling
of state-funded organizations of which the which provides counselling services via
following are engaged in career guidance and e-mail, phone, and personal consultations.
counselling:
—— The Centre for International Coop-
—— The National Institute for Education,
School Guidance and Counselling Facili-
ties and Facilities for Continuing Teach- 32 www.nuv.cz
er Training (Národní ústav pro vzdělávání, 33 www.nuov.cz/univ2k/projekt
školské poradenské zařízení a zařízení pro další
34 ttp://www.nuv.cz/projekty/vip?highlight-
h
Words=vip+kari%C3%A9ra
31 www.msmt.cz 35 www.infoabsolvent.cz/
16eration in Education (Dům zahraniční sional schools (vyšší odborná škola, ISCED 6) and
spolupráce, DZS)36 is a state-funded pedagogical and psychological counselling in
organisation, established by the Ministry of each region. Such counselling is provided by
Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech pedagogical and psychological counselling
Republic, performing tasks relating to centres (pedagogicko-psychologická poradna,
ensuring educational, training and other PPP) primarily for young people up to 18 years
relations with foreign countries under of age.
the instructions of the ministry. In 2007 it
also incorporated the National Agency for The individual municipalities are responsible
European Educational Programmes (NAEP). for compulsory schooling, they establish and
The DZS is responsible for Erasmus+ and administer basic schools (základní škola, ISCED
other educational programmes in the Czech 1+2) and nursery schools (mateřská škola,
Republic (eLearning, EEA/Norwegian Finan- ISCED 0).
cial Mechanism Fund, ASIA-LINK, etc.). It is
also the contact point for non-EU students
wishing to study at Czech universities.
The DZS also encompasses the Czech
Euroguidance Centre, a member of the 5.2 National authorities
European network operating in 35 Europe-
an countries and linking together career influencing the
guidance systems in Europe. The main
target group of Euroguidance is to provide
provision of career
guidance for practitioners and policy
makers from both the educational and em-
guidance and
ployment sectors in all European countries. counselling in the
The Euroguidance network promotes
mobility, and guidance for counsellors employment sector
and individuals to better understand the
opportunities available to European citizens The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
throughout Europe. Above all, Euroguid- (Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí, MPSV)38. The
ance creates opportunities for experts in the MLSA is responsible for social policy (e.g. people
counselling field to meet and share their with disabilities, social services, social benefits,
knowledge and experience. By organizing family policy), social security (e.g. pensions,
conferences, seminars, job shadowings, sickness insurance), employment (e.g. labour
study visits, Euroguidance helps to spread market, employment support, employment
examples of good practice.37 of foreigners), labour legislation, occupation-
al safety and health, equal opportunities of
The Czech Republic is administratively divided women and men, migration and integration
into 14 regions (higher territorial self-gov- of foreigners, European Social Fund and other
erning units). The regions are responsible for social or labour related issues.
education within their area. Every three years
the regional authorities produce long-term pol- The MLSA supervises a number of state-fund-
icy objectives for their area in compliance with ed contributory organisations of which the
the national objectives. Generally, the regions following are engaged in career guidance and
are the organising bodies for upper secondary counselling:
schools (střední škola, ISCED 3), tertiary profes-
—— The Labour Office of the Czech Republic
36 www.dzs.cz
37 www.euroguidance.cz 38 www.mpsv.cz
17(Úřad práce České republiky, ÚP)39 possibly non-profit or private entities. The
The Labour Office is an administrative body institute also provides consulting services
with nationwide authority.40 The Labour for the users of research outputs, organises
Office is headed by Labour Office General seminars and conferences and publishes
Directorate (Generální ředitelství Úřadu práce, specialist materials. Research projects are
GŘ ÚP), which runs 14 regional Labour planned every year in collaboration with
Offices. The regional Labour Offices deal the institute’s founder and other concerned
with tasks in the areas of employment, parties and take into account the continuity
protection of workers when their employers of the development of science and research
become insolvent and state social support. in the areas in question. The institute’s main
Subordinate branch labour offices operate areas of research are: the labour market and
in all 14 regions. The labour offices provide employment; social dialogue and labour
a wide range of guidance and counselling relations; social protection; the family; equal
services to job applicants, jobseekers, young opportunities; incomes and wages; social
people and others concerned and employ- policy theory.
ers.
—— The Fund of Further Education (Fond
dalšího vzdělávání, FDV)41
The FDV was established in 2011 and
5.3 National guidance
provides guidance and counselling services
in close cooperation with the MLSA and
forum and career
labour offices through projects co-financed guidance and
by the European Social Fund and the state
budget of the Czech Republic. The FDV aims counselling associations
to implement and coordinate activities in
the area of further education, to facilitate The National Guidance Forum (Národní
better employability of Czech citizens in poradenské fórum, NPF) was established on May
the labour market and to effectively help 13, 2010 by mutual agreement between the
to reduce existing structural and sectoral Minister of Education, Youth and Sports and the
qualification deficiencies and to reflect Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The NPF is
the educational needs of the Czech labour an advisory body for both ministries in lifelong
market. career guidance and counselling. The NPF does
not replace the coordination structures already
—— The Research Institute for Labour existing in the field of career guidance and
and Social Affairs (Výzkumný ústav práce counselling, but realises its goals through mem-
a sociálních věcí, v. v. i., VÚPSV)42 is a public ber organisations, working groups and project
research institution. The institute’s principal partnerships. Through the NPF it is possible –
activity is applied research on labour and given the potential of its members – to ensure
social affairs issues at a regional, national the inter-ministerial coordination of activities
and international level; this research is and project plans implemented in the field of
formulated in line with the current require- lifelong guidance.
ments of state government authorities and
The majority of guidance and counselling
practitioners’ associations act in the education
39 www.uradprace.cz/ sector. They are:
40 ct No. 73/2011 Coll., on the Labour Office of
A
the Czech Republic. —— The Association of Educational Coun-
sellors in the Czech Republic (Asociace
41 http://fdv.mpsv.cz/
výchovných poradců), which has been
42 www.vupsv.cz
18operating since 2006.43 The Association in the context of education and schooling,
brings together educational counsellors at to promote the services of school psycholo-
basic, secondary and tertiary professional gists in all types of schools and educational
schools, counsellors at higher education institutions and to create and introduce
institutions, labour offices and other school educational programmes to ensure a high
and guidance facilities providing education- level of professionalism in school psycholo-
al, information and guidance/counselling gists etc.
services connected with the study and fu-
ture work placement of graduates of study —— The Czech Association of School
programmes. Prevention Specialists (Česká asociace
školních metodiků prevence, ČAŠMP)46 is
—— The Association of University Guidance a professional non-political organisation
Counsellors (Asociace vysokoškolských associating school prevention specialists. It
poradců)44 was established in 2008. The Asso- primarily focuses on methodical and edu-
ciation brings together academics and other cational activities, providing guidance and
staff working in higher education institutions counselling services, educational activities
providing educational, psychological, spe- on healthy lifestyle issues, the prevention
cial-educational counselling, career guidance of risky behaviour and the enforcement of
and other related types of guidance, infor- school prevention specialists’ interests.
mation and facilitation services for university
students and other persons interested in —— The Association of Private Guidance
studying at university and other clients to Counsellors (Asociace soukromých
whom those services are intended. poradenských pracovníků, ASPP) is a volun-
tary independent association of graduate
—— The Association of Pedagogical and professionals, who deal primarily with issues
Psychological Counselling Centres concerning specific learning disabilities
(Asociace pracovníků pedagogicko-psycho- and behavioural issues in general, from
logických poraden, o. s., ApPPP)45 connects prevention and diagnostics to re-education,
professionals from pedagogical and psy- providing assistance in assuring educational
chological counselling centres in the Czech tolerance of pupils in nursery, basic and
Republic. It facilitates the development of secondary schools.
guidance and counselling activities, deals
with operational matters of the centres and There are three relevant associations in the
responds to legislative changes relating to sector of employment, although their mem-
education. The association addresses the bers do not focus on provision of guidance and
needs of professionals in these centres, counselling services:
including issues concerning their education
and qualifications. It is also concerned with —— The Association of Employment
the implementation of organisational, con- Agencies (Asociace agentur práce, APA)47
ceptual and methodical changes relating to is a non-profit professional organisation
pedagogical and psychological counselling associating employment agencies mostly
in the Czech Republic. providing temporary help.
—— The School Psychologists Association —— The Association of Providers of Human
(Asociace školní psychologie, AŠP) aims to Resources Services (Asociace poskyto-
promote the appropriate use of psychology vatelů personálních služeb, APPS)48 is an
43 www.asociacevp.cz/ 46 www.casmp.cz
44 www.asociacevsp.cz/english 47 www.apa.cz
45 www.apppp.cz 48 www.apps.cz
19independent and voluntary interest group.
Its prime goal is to shape conditions for the
5.4 Career guidance
favourable development of a stable market and counselling hotline
of labour potential in the Czech Republic. In
order to realise this goal, the APPS commu-
nicates with the competent institutions and The only nationwide counselling hotline is run
state authorities. The APPS supports the by the MLSA Call Centre - 844 844 803, which
professional development of its members, provides general information within the scope
advocates personnel-consultancy services, of the following legislation:
provides its members with information and
counselling as well as materials and organis- —— Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment
es joint activities, conferences and seminars. • guidance on brokering employment
• employment of people with disabilities
—— The Association for Bilan de • registration and benefits for the unem-
Compétences (Asociace bilanční diagnos- ployed and those retraining
tiky, ABDg)49 is a voluntary, non-governmen- • retraining
tal, non-profit, independent organization • labour market
associating counsellors and other persons • active employment policy
serving for the benefit of bilan the compe- • targeted programmes for dealing with
tences. employment
• brokering employment through job
agencies
• employment of foreigners and the Euro-
pean Employment Services (EURES)
• information on job vacancies
—— Act No.118/200 Coll., on worker protection
in the event of the insolvency of the em-
ployer and on amendments to certain Acts
—— Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code
• Selected provisions relating to Act No.
435/2004 Coll., on employment
• No labour law guidance provided
—— Act No. 117/1995 Coll., on state social
support
—— Act No. 110/2006 Coll., on the living and
subsistence minimum
—— Act No. 111/2006 Coll., on assistance in
material need
—— Act No. 329/2011 Coll., on the provision of
benefits to persons with disabilities
49 www.asociace-bilancni-diagnostiky.cz/
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