Czech Business Today

In October 2011, the European Commission proposed the rules that will determine how the European Social Fund (ESF) will work in the 2014–2020 period. 

The proposal is part of an overall legislative package for the Union’s future cohesion policy. It will allow the ESF to continue providing tangible support to people who need help to find a job or to progress in their current job. 

The aim of the European Social Fund is to improve employment opportunities, promote education and life-long learning, enhance social inclusion, contribute to combating poverty and develop institutional capacity of public administration. The new ESF proposal is based on the flagship initiatives of the European Union “Agenda for new skills and jobs”, which aim to reduce structural unemployment, improve self- regulatory function of the labour market and ensure the improvement of working conditions and the “Youth on the Move”, which responds to the high unemployment of young Europe. 

The participants at CEBRE debate, held on 3rd April in the European House in Prague, agreed that there was an urgent need to promote vocational training and crafts as the young generation (but also their parents) do not consider the crafts as well as technical professions attractive. In this sense, the Czech Ministry of Education is preparing a national project to have more learning programmes in this field and, at the same time, to promote technical professions locally. The impulse to launch such a project in the Czech Republic comes from businesses/employers who say it is very hard to find people with suitable qualifications. 

In the current financial period (2007–2013), the Czech Republic is still facing difficulties with drawing on support from the EU. Therefore, in the next program period, the priority will be correcting deficiencies from previous years and ensuring full depletion of subsidies allocated for the Czech Republic. Particular focus should be on simplification of the programmes and adequate and efficient control of utilization of European funds. It seems that for ESF there could be only one operational programme. 

However, it is not only about money. The cohesion funds should help to kick off the reforms and carry out changes but should not be used to finance regular activities of the administration. Reforms and changes must be also accompanied by regulatory changes and changes in peoples ́ mind.