The Innovation Strategy for the Czech Republic sets the goal for science, research and innovation to become an absolute priority in the country, focusing on knowledge based production, technology solutions and services.

The strategy, together with other pillars, addresses the digital competences and skills development in education, for the labour force and information and communication technology (ICT) experts. The skills development targets are presented in Chapter: The Country for Technology: Polytechnic Education.

Objectives and main priorities

• Transforming the polytechnic education system, through an emphasis on creativity, research approaches, technical imagination, logical and critical thinking, problem-solving, information evaluation, and project-based teaching informed by a knowledge base of natural sciences and mathematics. 
• Elementary education: the integration of a 'People and Technology' education area aims to implement technology as a compulsory subject at level 2 of the national elementary school system and stimulate the development and application of technical skills across the board in all relevant subjects. 
• Secondary Vocational Education: through activities aiming to innovate and consolidate a coherent national system with dual education elements, managed by the government, with the involvement of regions and employers. 
• University education: support for study programmes focusing on advanced technologies and incentives to involve top personalities in collaboration with domestic universities in all areas. 
• Promoting lifelong learning and reskilling, including activities aiming to prepare the workforce for disruptions caused by breakthrough technologies. 
• Policy analysis of the impact of Industry 4.0 on the labour market in order to appropriately transform the education system. 
• Targeted support for strategic alliances of domestic universities with Europe‘s top universities and the synchronisation of their curricula in relation to the mobility of students and academics. 

Activities foreseen to enhance digital and technology skills

• Updating the Digital Education Strategy with the introduction of breakthrough technologies. 
• Revision of the Framework Educational Programme for elementary schools -implementation of the area 'People and Technology' with the subject technology and implementation of new technologies in other relevant subjects.
• Strengthening undergraduate teacher training with a focus on the use of new technologies as teaching tools. 
• Introducing conceptual support for the innovation potential of pupils and students. 
• Increasing the digital competence of teachers in line with the Teacher Digital Competence Standard. 
• Establishment of university methodological support centres for current and future teaching staff, with the aim of sufficient preparation for the implementation of new technologies in elementary and secondary education. 
• Creating a system of ongoing assessment of the impact of the industrial revolution on the innovation ecosystem, labour market, education and citizens’ lives. 
• Creation of a Fast Track for the employment of advanced technology scientists and academics.