The Czech strategic roadmap for the Digital Decade developed by Office of the Government of the Czech Republic sets out the strategic goals to be achieved by 2030, monitoring their achievement, and the target paths and key measures have been developed.
The report uses the data in the Digital Decade Report 2023 on the National Base Value of the Digital Decade Targets, the EU baseline value for Digital Decade Targets in 2023 and the EU target value for 2030. Regarding the Digital Decade targets, 60% of Czechs have at least basic digital skills (above the EU average of 54%). The percentage of ICT specialists in total employment slowly increased by 0.3 percentage points between 2020 and 2022 but is still below the EU average of 4.6%. Moreover, at 10.9%, the share of women among the ICT specialists is the lowest in the EU, compared to the EU average of 18.9%.
The Roadmap for Czech Republic consists of 4 chapters:
- Digital Skills
- Digital infrastructures
- Digital transformation of businesses
- Public services digitalization
Priorities for the development of digital skills
Although the Czech Republic has a higher share of people with basic digital skills compared to other Member States and the EU average (according to DESI), the one of the priorities is to further improve the conditions and support the development of digital skills across society, in the context of the advancing digital transformation, the accelerating development of digital technologies and the prevention of digital exclusion.
The share of Czechia’s RRP allocated to digital priorities is 22%, (amounting to EUR 1.56 billion) of which EUR 1.475 billion is expected to contribute to the Digital Decade targets. The main investments focus on boosting digital skills and supporting the digitisation of enterprises. So far, Czechia has rolled out new curricula with more IT classes, invested in new digital equipment for schools, as well as defined interoperability standards for the healthcare systems. Czechia launched a Central European Digital Media Observatory, to identify and investigate disinformation in Central Europe. Milestones and targets that are meant to be met in 2023 include measures to digitalise the justice system and implement a common platform to communicate with the state administration.
Measures contributing to the achievement of the target
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Measure 1: Implementation of the revised ICT curriculum for primary schools and multi-year grammar schools with emphasis on the development of digital skills and computational thinking in teaching (cross-cutting).
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Measure 2: Drafting a revised Framework Education Programme for Primary Education reflecting the use of AI in teaching.
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Measure 3: Preparing a revision/update of the FEP for secondary education.
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Measure 4: Expanding the range of programmes for the development of basic and advanced digital skills for the public within the framework of activities supported by the National Recovery Plan (MoLSA e-shop) and preparing an awareness campaign.
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Measure 5: Reforming undergraduate teacher preparation and developing graduate competency profiles in teacher preparation programmes.
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Measure 6: Expanding the range of teacher education programmes (including online) focused on the development of digital skills in the context of the FEPW and linked to the use of diagnostic/auto-evaluation tools.
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Measure 7: Introducing a contribution to the payment for digital training courses (pilot testing of a new active labour market policy)
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Measure 8: Creating a repository of certificates and a portal offering microcredentials in cooperation between higher education institutions and the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research.
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Measure 9: Expanding the range of courses in the field of digital skills development for employees.
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Measure 10: Expanding the range of study programmes at higher education institutions with a focus on ICT and cybersecurity, e.g. using a combination of full-time and distance learning.
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Measure 11: Taking into account the requirements for improving the training of ICT/cybersecurity professionals (with an emphasis on increasing the representation of women in this field) in the framework of the planned innovation of the subject-area system.
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Measure 12: Providing digital tools and aids for pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds in schools.
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Measure 13: National RIS3 Strategy.
Key challenges to overcome
In terms of improving the competitiveness of the Czech Republic, it is crucial to support the training and increase in the number/share of ICT and cybersecurity professionals (including the under-representation of women in these fields). The Czech Republic has long faced a shortage of skilled labour in these professions, with the labour market experiencing a significant increase in demand in this area.
Source: European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
