Departments
National Observatory of Employment and Training (hereinafter referred to as the Observatory) operates as an analytical section of the NTF. It conducts research, collects data and analyses trends in the labour market and education in the context of ongoing technological and socio-economic changes. It has a long-standing interest in forecasting the skills needs of the labour market, including the development of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in this area. The aim is to systematically generate and analyse information on future employment trends, demands for occupations, qualifications and skills to better orient and inform the decision-making of labour market institutions, the education sector, employers and individuals. Recently, the Observatory team has also been focusing on current issues of changes in trends in occupational skill structures and changes in the nature of work in relation to the accelerating development of technology brought about by the so-called fourth industrial revolution and the development of artificial intelligence.
The Observatory cooperates with ministries, the European Commission, the OECD, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), major research institutes, universities and other partner institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad and participates in research projects under the European Horizon and Erasmus programmes. Since 2004, it has been cooperating in the ReferNet programme, where, under the leadership of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training Cedefop, information is collected and studies on vocational training and the labour market in EU Member States are prepared for the needs of the European Commission. It is also included in the international SkillsNet network and its staff participate as expert consultants for the Czech Republic in the European Skills Needs Forecasting activities and are involved in the EU Skills Panorama project, which provides access to information, methodologies and analyses of the labour market and skills needs.
The Observatory provides the results of its research and expertise to the decision-making sphere and is also directly involved in the preparation of strategic documents. In the past, this included the Lifelong Learning Strategy, analytical support to the Office of the Government in evaluating and updating the National Policy on Research, Development and Innovation in the Czech Republic, strategic materials for the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs formulating the basic directions of initiatives in the area of Industry 4.0 and Work 4.0. In 2017–2020, the Observatory was one of the partners of the KOMPAS system project, which aimed to build a sustainable system of monitoring and forecasting of the labour market at the national and regional level under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Currently, from 2021, it is one of the implementers of the important STRATIN+ project, which provides analyses and strategic information for the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, other public administration bodies and research organisations in support of the design and implementation of development in the field of research, development and innovation.
Publications, articles, seminars, presentations and other outputs of the Observatory are used as a source of analyses, data and other information by professional departments, university teachers and students, journalists and the general public. The Observatory team is also dedicated to transferring experience and supporting foreign partners in developing labour market analysis and skills needs forecasting activities in their countries. Expert support projects have been implemented for Poland, Lithuania, Moldova, Armenia and Uzbekistan, funded by the World Bank, UNDP and other donors.
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