New paradigm for the system of professional focus of young people in accordance with trends in the labour market

Abstract

In recent years, the Czech labour sector has encountered a number of specific problems, particularly in relation to the impact of the recent economic crisis. In 2007, there was an enormous gap between demand and supply in the labour market in the manufacturing sector, especially the manufacturing of machinery and equipment and machinery of vehicles, which are the most important constituent of the Czech economy. The deficit for qualified labour force caused a situation where all enterprises required new staff from the secondary schools and universities, especially graduates with technical qualification. The economic crisis in 2008 curtailed the demand for labour, currently, most enterprises have overcome the crisis and the demand for qualified technical and research staff is growing again. This research was conducted by Faculty of Management and Economics of the Thomas Bata University in Zlin (FaME TBU). From the 854 students selected from Czech secondary schools and 171 university students, it was revealed that students do not follow the employment demand of companies. The Czech economy also faces a problematic demographical trends and structural problems in the labour market. This problem is further compounded with the trends in students’ professional focus. This research paper uses Roe’s classification of occupations and theoretical conclusions. According to Roe’s theory, people usually focus their career choice in one of eight groups of occupations. The research confirmed that only 9 percent of students have some career focus. Furthermore, the average Czech student chooses professions from 5 groups and there are huge gaps between the student’s choice and the demands of the labour market, especially in the fourth group of occupations - technologies, which is still the most important economic output for the Czech Republic.