Project VETY Vocational Education and Training for Young

A lot of companies in the Czech Republic are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, while the interest of young people to study at the vocational schools is decreasing and thus the gap between the business needs and structure of the workforce continues to deepen. Not only Czech Republic but many other European Union countries are struggling with this problem. Partners from five EU countries – Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Cyprus and Austria came together in the project VETY -Vocational Education and Training for Young, funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme Partnership, in order to increase the interest of young people to study at the vocational schools and to create informational materials on vocational training and specific occupations for the pupils of the elementary school.

A survey among high school students about the factors influencing the choice of the school, field of the study and future employment was part of the project. A comparative analysis of the survey results for all the involved countries was conducted. The results showed that the pupils have only limited information regarding the professions and programs of the secondary schools. The most important factor by choosing the school is to be able to quickly get interesting and well-paid job. The results of all the countries were very similar with the exception of Cyprus, which is due to the different education system and the role of family in the society.

DC VISION organized a meeting of the project partners in Prague at the beginning of March. The partners visited the Technical Secondary School, Zelený pruh, where the partners had the opportunity to visit the school premises, to familiarize themselves with the subjects taught here, to see the practical training of the students and to discuss with the students about their motivation to study the field they have chosen. Partners discussed with the deputy director Mgr. Jahoda about the cooperation between the school and employers and how to motivate primary school pupils to study at the vocational schools.

Final project meeting will be held in Cyprus, 3rd to 5th May. The project will end 31st of July 2010.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
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