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
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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
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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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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