- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Completed
Background
Among EU countries, the Czech Republic reports the highest industry share in total GDP, exceeding 45%. New requirements brought about by the fourth industrial revolution, including the trend of digitisation, automation, and subsequent changes in the labour market, call for flexible adjustments in the system of competences. Given expected changes in the labour market, it is necessary to transform education in a short period of time, re-evaluate the role and content of initial education, and set up a system of lifelong learning as a natural part of everyone’s life path.
The use of competence pyramids in initial education can contribute to the innovation of the system of fields of study and modernisation of the content of education in various fields. These start with the vocational fields of study with or without a Maturita exam (especially with respect to common professional basis within the relevant group of fields of study) and end with professionally oriented fields of study at the tertiary professional level. Continuing vocational education and training offers the option to use competence pyramids in the development of retraining programmes as well as reskilling and upskilling programmes in line with EU employment policy.
A regular update of the so-called sector competence pyramids is a prerequisite for effective changes in lifelong learning. Competence pyramids contain a set of knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and values for specific employment in the labour market. They should help to define sector specific competences to be reflected by the educational system.
Objectives
For both initial and continuing vocational education and training, it is primary issue to increase the relevance of educational programmes in relation to the changing qualification requirements of the labour market.
The aim of the project is to map future competences and create updated competence pyramids for 10 selected sectors, in which the most robust shifts concerning the requirements for workforce qualifications are expected to occur. The objective of the project is to develop and expand partnerships between companies and schools in four regions of the Czech Republic. Therefore, one key activity of the project also includes verification and introduction of elements of dual education (particularly work-based learning/practical training in companies) and their incorporation in school curricula.
Description
In the framework of the Competence 4.0 project (2019-22; Operational programme Employment, Ministry of Industry and Social Affairs), the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Czech Chamber of Commerce and the consultancy company TREXIMA jointly participate in mapping new future competences associated with the introduction of Industry 4.0 in the Czech Republic.
Other expected project outputs include:
- analyses of international studies and labour market trends;
- methodology of mapping future labour market competences with the involvement of sectoral and cross-sectoral working groups, including setting up basic rules for establishing cooperation between companies and schools;
- a methodology for creating sectoral competence pyramids as a tool for systemic definition of labour market requirements and the related proposal for updating the central competence database with the descriptions of emerging competences and, in the future, required competences in relation to industry 4.0;
- development of 10 sectoral competence pyramids in individual sectors with a link to the fields of education;
- regional workshops around the topic of school-company partnerships and 10 sectoral round tables dealing with the topic of sharing the information on new competences and their transfer to vocational training.
The project carried out analysis of international studies and labour market trends. It processed good practice examples from, Denmark, Germany and Austria many of their elements could be used in the Czech Republic. The study also includes draft recommendations for public policies, including the employment and education policy of the Czech Republic. The results of the analysis of foreign labour market trends and interviews with the leaders of Industry 4.0 were used as a support for the selection of sectors where the forthcoming shifts in competences would be mapped. Working groups consisting of representatives of the business, research, development, innovation, and education spheres were established for the following 10 priority sectors: electromobility, logistics, chemistry, construction, mechatronics, modern industrial/engineering production, ICT activities (focus on cyber security), creative industries (focus on the gaming industry), wholesale, retail and e-commerce, and the food industry. Since December 2020, 130 members of these working groups have started identifying future competences in 10 priority sectors (especially classification, their interconnectedness, and integration into the context of broad professional qualifications) and in the development of sectoral competence pyramids as well as in searching for links to the National system of occupations and the National register of qualifications.
A methodology has been developed that sets out the rules and procedures to map and classify the competences required by the future labour market in relation to the fourth industrial revolution and facilitates the transfer of labour market requirements into education.
At regional level, representatives of four territorial employment pacts of the Moravian-Silesian, Ústí nad Labem, Zlín and Central Bohemian regions participated in the project as project partners. In these four regions, partnerships between upper secondary schools and companies were in the process of being established to verify the project outputs of the elements of dual education.
In 2021, the methodology proposed in 2020 was fully validated. A total of 10 working groups mapped new trends in the priority areas of electromobility, logistics, chemistry, construction, mechatronics, modern industrial/engineering production, ICT (with a focus on cyber security), creative industries (focus on the gaming industry), wholesale, retail and e-commerce, and the food industry. The main focus was on new and future changes related to digitalisation and other technologies related to the Industry 4.0 concept. These sectoral analyses were one of the starting points for identifying new competences. At this stage, the new competences had already been named and classified according to different aspects. Attention was also paid to different categories of transversal competences, such as those needed in different types of workplaces (soft skills). The activities were carried out in close cooperation with the National Pedagogical Institute (NPI) responsible for the development and modernisation of secondary vocational education and training framework educational programmes. NPI monitors inputs from sector experts and uses them in the modernisation of existing programmes or the design of completely new VET programmes.
By the end of 2021, 37 partnerships had been established in the participating four regions. In half of these partnerships, the concept of ‘standard of practice’ in terms of the Czech VET system, i.e. as a minimum standard of work-based learning, were also being piloted.
In November 2022, the Methodology for mapping future labour market competences was published with the involvement of sectoral and cross-sectoral working groups. The methodology sets out the rules and procedures for mapping and classyfying the competences required by the future labour market in relation to the 4th Industrial Revolution and systematically organising them into the so-called competence pyramids as a basis for their implementation in initial and continuing VET, including the setting up of the necessary cooperation between research, development, education and employers. The methodology sheds light on the procedures for identifying cross-cutting skills and, as a next step, for defining sectoral and cross-sectoral clusters of groups of competences.
It is aimed at members and coordinators of the sectoral Innovation working groups, which had a total of approximately 130 members, including the experts of the National Pedagogical Institute who are involved in the revisions of the Framework Educational Programmes. The methodology guide is intended for key actors in employment and education policies, developers of national occupational and qualification frameworks, educational concepts and curricula at national, regional and local levels, schools, etc. It provides guidance to the representatives of the decision-making and implementation spheres through basic steps of mapping, defining competences and creating competence pyramids.
At the end of November, the final conference entitled Competences for the Future was held presenting the outputs of the Competences 4.0 project, which was completed at the end of the year. The conference was organised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Two key tools of the project were presented at the conference. One of them was the New Skills Monitor, which is used to map emerging and anticipated labour market needs. It captures the qualitative trends and changes that are linked to changes in technology, and have an effect on the changing nature and organisation of work and process settings. Where appropriate, it identifies their impact in the near future. Another important tool for describing skills is the competence pyramids, which is a hierarchical and systematically classified summary of competences in a given sector. The use of competence pyramids allows general and occupational competences (knowledge and skills) to be organised from the basic to narrow specialisations. It is a sectoral competency model that categorises skills into clear groups allowing for a dialogue between employers and educators. Such a dialogue can help to identify new occupations, new fields of study or the revision of the existing ones.
Thanks to project activities, 36 partnerships between employers and schools in four regions of the Czech Republic have been established over time. A total of 37 companies and 31 schools with 34 fields of study engaged in mutual cooperation. More than 1,400 students participated in vocational training directly at the employers’ premises. In the course of the project, experts identified more than 1,700 new skills using the New Skills Monitor tool and created 20 sample profiles of modern occupations, setting the stage for the creation of new fields of study for secondary VET. Eventually, the project directly resulted in formulating six new fields, such as Games Developer or Mechatronics Technician.
The project was finalised on 31 December 2022.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
- Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic
- Czech Chamber of Commerce
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
Education professionals
- Trainers
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
VET standards and curricula define the content and outcomes of learning, most often at national or sectoral levels. VET programmes are based on standards and curricula and refer to specific vocations/occupations. They all need to be regularly reviewed, updated and aligned with the needs of the labour market and society. They need to include a balanced mix of vocational and technical skills corresponding to economic cycles, evolving jobs and working methods, and key competences, providing for resilience, lifelong learning, employability, social inclusion, active citizenship, sustainable awareness and personal development (Council of the European Union, 2020). The thematic sub-category also refers to establishing new VET programmes, reducing their number or discontinuing some. It also includes design of CVET programmes and training courses to adapt to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and re-skilling needs.
This thematic sub-category covers all developments related to work-based learning (WBL) elements in VET programmes and apprenticeships which continue to be important in the policy agenda. It includes measures to stabilise the offer of apprenticeships, the implementation of the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships, and using the EU on-demand support services and policy learning initiatives among the Member States. It also covers further expansion of apprenticeships and WBL to continuing VET (CVET), for transition to work and inclusion of vulnerable groups, and for improving citizens’ qualification levels.