Program 'Reform of professional training' is culminating

The program Phare ‘Reform of professional training’ whose directing unit works at National Training Fund has already entered an important period of publicising the achieved results. When the results of the program’s evaluation by the Ministry of education, of youth and physical training, the overseeing body, were handed over last year, the ministry set up a working group and entrusted it with the task to support and encourage the dissemination of the program’s results within the whole system of professional training. The Ministry of education /MSMT/ has decided on the proposal of this working group, that the program’s document entitled "Education as a means to prosperity" summarising the results of the program and containing the proposal for the future professional training strategy, should be submitted to a public-wide discussion. Therefore the document "Education as a means to prosperity, On the way to a learning community " was sent, with an accompanying letter from the Minister of education, to more than 3000 addresses at the end of February. Included were e.g. all technical professional schools, school authorities, Czech educational inspection, Labour Offices, district chambers of finance, trade licence societies, branch associations of enterprises etc. All these institutions were asked to express their views on the proposed strategy of professional training. The document "Education as a means to prosperity" contains a number of vital proposals which have their advocates as well as opponents. The proposals stem from the current problems of our system of professional training as well as from the expected future demands and they concern various aspects of professional training. In general, they strive for a fundamental change in the Czech system of professional training :to stop being confined to the area of education and to connect more with entreprises, the labour market and employment. The proposals for change in professional training management aim at this. It suggests that the responsibilities of establishing professional schools, in decision making concerning the structure of their specialisations and allocation of finances be transferred from the Ministry of education to a regional level. It suggests that the representatives of social partners, namely employers, gain competency in all levels of management (national, sector, regional, local).

As for the financing of the professional training, the proposal suggests introducing financing from more sources with the introduction of financial motivation of the employers by means of a tax differentiation and payment for employment policy-making. These as well as other proposals, should help reduce the existing unfavourable , even terrifying, development of the structure of the initial professional training, which is marked, among other things by greater differences between the structure of the graduates of professional schools and the employers’ needs as well as constantly growing unemployment of the graduates. It also strives to improve the unfavourable developments in the cost structure for the professional training as well as constantly falling behind investments into this type of education.

Being well informed about all these proposals is a prerequisite for an efficient discussion. Therefore 9 regional seminars for professional staff were held in March and April. More than a thousand representatives of the professional training schools, educational authorities and labour offices participated. Other seminars for the representatives of regional finance chambers and trade licence societies that should help elaborate on the procedures of incorporating social partners in the decision making on professional training and the elaboration of qualifications systems which we still lack, are being prepared.

Opinions expressed during the public discussion will be thoroughly considered. The first results of the discussion will be presented at the traditional Kromeriz forum on professional training in May. The National Training Fund is the co- organiser. With regard to the results of the discussion, the program document "Education as a means to prosperity" will be adjusted, links to other parts of educational system will be added as well as the proposal for the procedure of events. It will be presented in this form at the conference held in September. This conference will also end the several years’ Phare program Reform of professional training. The discussed scheme of professional training strategy, that we have been heading to from the very beginning, will remain.

Jaromír COUFALÍK, NTF