In the Moravian-Silesian Region, there is a lack of apprentices in construction fields

Ostrava - There is currently a shortage of apprentices in construction fields in the Moravian-Silesian Region. According to Deputy Governor for Education Jaroslava Wenigerová (ODS), the situation is critical. However, most technical fields are struggling with the low interest of school graduates. This is a common view among regional representatives and the regional chamber of commerce.
In 1995, there were five vocational schools for construction in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Each opened two classes of masons every year, which was about 250 to 300 students. Now there is only one such school, and this year it opened one class with 24 apprentices, Wenigerová stated. She believes that significant shortcomings in motivating career choices still exist in schools. Many teachers and career counselors do not know how to individually develop and support children's abilities.
According to Wenigerová, it should not be the case that some vocational fields are considered less valuable. "It cannot happen that students hear they are stupid and therefore will become masons. A professional can never afford such a mindset," Wenigerová believes, adding that the problem often lies not only with schools but also with the parents themselves. Many of them are simply not interested in their children's future.
President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Pavel Bartoš further believes that the current social system contributes to parents' lack of interest. "Parents know that if their child is not successful in the labor market, they will not be in a bad situation, that they will somehow survive. There is very little motivation to work here," Bartoš thinks. He added that the social system also creates problems in the labor market itself. "For example, many apprentices do not take jobs after their training because they are relatively well off in the social network," Bartoš stated.
According to Wenigerová, the most sought-after fields currently, for which there is the highest demand in the labor market, are mainly electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, construction, and information technology. The region plans to completely change the current system of vocational fields within two years. While there are currently about 800 vocational fields in the region, it should be eventually reduced to only 200. The region hopes that this step will lead to broader employment opportunities in the labor market. In the future, if a student chooses masonry, they will not focus solely on that field during their studies; the vocational field will be expanded to include other related fields that are currently taught separately.