1. Central Bohemia Education Vocational Education Training Andrew Thomas - Dorset LEP

2. CZECH REPUBLIC („heart of Europe“) Regina Europea (16th century) Czech Kingdom „Heart“ of Europe www.visk.cz

3. 3 CENTRAL BOHEMIA REGION  Self governing unit including state administration (one Authority in its own area)  1.2 million inhabitants, the biggest region in the Czech Republic  ca 700 municipalities  > 1200 schools and school facilities  ca 200 facilities for social services  16 000 pedagogical staff, 4 000 officials in regional and municipal Authorities, 2 000 staff in social services www.visk.cz ww.visk.cz

4. www.visk.cz PRAHA – PRAGUE 4

5. www.visk.cz KARLŠTEJN SVATÁ BARBORA KUTNÁ HORA HOLY MOUNTAIN AT PŘÍBRAM VLTAVA RIVER 5

6. CZECH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM R R M M VISK FURTHER ADULT EDUCATION www.visk.cz 6

7. 7 SCHOOLS  Established by  Municipalities (nursery, primary, lower secondary)  Region (upper secondary, higher vocational)  State  Private  Legal entities, budget - two sources  Independent in their educational programs (base – framework EP)  Schools  Nursery (pre-school edu) (age 3 - 6)  Primary (age 6 – 10)  Lower secondary(age 11 – 15)  Upper secondary(age 15 – 18)  Higher (age over 18) Adult education – retraining courses (following certified branches of study – part of their school educational program) RETRAINING COURSES

8. 8 CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION Quality of education Low interest in VET studies Support for science and technical branches of study and for vocational education generally Negative demographic development Further teacher education (new methods and technologies) Practice and cooperation with companies Foreign languages

9. Partnerships Jiří Holý - Director of Central Bohemia Educational Institute (VISK Institute) for Dorset Further Education Eva Svobodová – Poděbrady – Catering & Hospitality College www.visk.cz 9

10. To Summarise All EU countries are the same in terms of bureaucracy from political masters. We all suffer from skills development challenges to keep pace with BRIC nations and stretched recourses and funding. www.visk.cz 10

11. Final Thought…. Is a closer European Union working in true partnership and bad thing? www.visk.cz 11