STRENGTHENING SKILL USE AND SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITIONS

OECD Economic Survey of the Czech Republic 2014

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Key messages

Moving up the value added chain requires new set of skills

Growth depends on an education system that adjusts to changes in labour market needs

There are unemployed skills that could be put to effective use

PART 1

Education

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Education / school-to-work transition challenges:

Learning outcomes are declining:o Performance in PISA has deterioratedo The share of low achievers has increased

Students with VET are faced with:o Little demand for their skillsoOr with skills that are not suitable

Quality concerns in fast expanding tertiary education:oHigher intake in the public systemo The emergence of private institutions

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Student performance is strongly influenced by socio-economic status

Source: OECD PISA 2012 Database.

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Declining Educational Performance

Related to strong selectivity in the education systemo Streamingo Early trackingo Low transferability between tracks

Selectivity reinforces students’ socio-economic backgroundo Leaving many students behindo Without raising average performance

Selectivity has negative effects on:o Labour market prospectso Human capital accumulation

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Policies: Provide a solid skill foundation by avoiding selectivity in education

Expand early childhood education

Eliminate early tracking

Avoid streaming into special needs schools

Increase transfer possibilities between tracks

Improve teaching quality

Use standardised national tests to introduce school benchmarking

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Poor match between fields of study and work branches in VET

Source: National Institute for Education.

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Challenges in the VET System:

Unlinked from the labour market

Limited use of workplace training

Fragmented involvement of social partners

Concerns about quality of general education, particularly in apprenticeships

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Policies: Improve the match between VET and the labour market needs

Increase participation of private employers

Introduce a contract between apprentices and their employers

Stimulate workplace training for difficult-to-place students via subsidies to firms

Link school financing to labour market developments

Improve the quality of general education to reduce drop-out rates in apprenticeships

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Tertiary Education: Challenges

To reach the OECD average, current high intake needs to be sustained

Increase in student intake rose faster than financial resources

Concerns regarding diverging quality standards in private and public HE institutions

Weak connections with the private sector

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High returns on tertiary education

Net private returns over the life-cycle of a male attaining tertiary education, as compared with returns he would obtain from upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education as multiples of GDP per capita, 2009

Source: OECD Education at a Glance and National Accounts Databases.

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Policy: Secure quality in tertiary education

Introduce output based accreditation criteria(focus also on the quality of universities’

output)

Strengthen the links with the private sector and foreign research networks

Increase resources: student fees with grants and income-contingent repayment loans

Support student choices with labour market outcome information

PART 2

Labour Market Issues

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Challenge: Make more effective use of existing resources and skills

Youth and low-skilled unemploymentoMuch higher than the national average

Low Female labour market participationoGender employment and wage differentials

are largeoStrong work disincentives for mothers with

small children

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Policy: Promote youth and activate low-skilled employment

Secure training for unskilled youngsters via subsidies or a youth minimum wage linked to training

Provide sufficiently long work place training to secure strong skills acquisition

Focus ALMP resources on clearly identified target groups and establish performance targets

Improve monitoring of active labour market programmes

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Female Labour Market Participation

Impact of motherhood on employment

Source: Eurostat.

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Policy: Support family and working life choices

Provide an adequate supply of affordable and high quality early childcare facilities

Reduce maximum duration of parental leave

Turn part of the parental allowance into vouchers

Condition allowances on fathers’ participation

Increase opening hours of early child care facilities

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Thank you!

Děkuji!

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Occupation and education are changing

Change from 2003 in shares of employment, in percentage points