ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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• Regular and continuous support and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning. • Greater involvement of Irish citizens in lifelong learning. • Active support for employee involvement in training anddevelopment programs. For the Czech Republic, the active participation of employers in the development of the necessary skills can currently be considered a very stimulating and desirable strategic goal. The Irish document 9 presupposes the involvement of employers in three areas: a) Higher education – participation in the creation and revision of the curriculum of new subjects, the offer of work-oriented projects and case studies, the offer of guest lecturers and excursions to companies, etc. b) Development of employees – updating of development programs (in accordance with the growing importance of ICT skills), emphasis on continuous professional development of employees, taking into account the development and improvement of qualifications in evaluation and remuneration systems, etc. c) Research and innovation – provision of consulting services, access to facilities and equipment for research purposes, use of research results, establishment of incubation centers, contract research, etc. In the Czech context, areas a) and c) have remained, with a few exceptions (e.g. the cooperation of ŠKODA AUTO Vysoká škola o.p.s. with ŠKODA AUTO a.s.), little used so far. An important part of Ireland’s skills development strategy 9 is to place them into three groups: 1) transversal skills – sometimes referred to as “soft skills” (e.g. creativity, innovation, communication, teamwork, critical and analytical thinking) are skills that generally allow people to get and keep any job. 2) trans-sectoral skills – are skills permeating all sectors of the economy. Their key component is ICT skills, but it also includes technical, marketing, management, etc. skills. 3) sector-specific skills – skills needed for application in individual sectors of the economy. In this context, the strategy emphasizes the development of new skills related to the financial services, ICT, manufacturing, medical devices and technologies, biopharmaceuticals, food, transport and logistics, construction, wholesale and retail, tourism and leisure sectors. Among other things, Ireland seeks to use the European Social Fund and its operational program for employment, inclusion and learning to meet its long- term goals for developing the necessary skills. In 2018, the Springboard+ 10

10 Springboard+ 2018, see http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/ applying_