Czech Republic

Project - Chance for Teleworking

Rationale

The main reason to found the Development Partnership is to run a pilot project in Plzen region, which should show teleworking opportunities and possibilities in the Czech Republic. Teleworking is a work from home using information technologies. Instead of commuting to work and sitting in the office, a person can work from home on PC. New experience and lessons learnt from this project can be applied to the entire Czech Republic.

Teleworking is frequently used abroad, but not very much in the Czech Republic. The project aim is to educate employers and employees about this new form of employment and show case and success stories from abroad. Through increased ICT literacy, project wants to increase employability of problematic job-seekers through teleworking and increase competitiveness of companies, using teleworking to decrease costs and increase productivity.

Our partnership should become a platform for exchange of ideas and finding innovative solutions to teleworking in the Czech Republic.

Objective

The project aim is to provide a definite answer to question, whether teleworking can work in the Czech Republic, to what extent, it should specify its strengths and weaknesses in specific conditions of national labour market, it should stipulate relevant changes in legislation to enable teleworking. It should also educate target groups and verify practically how to approach teleworking as means of employment. Specific deliverables include:

• analysis of current situation in teleworking in the Czech Republic
• analysis of information literacy demands and requirements for teleworking
• thorough analysis of employment opportunities for teleworking
• continuous monitoring of needs, barriers and job opportunities in teleworking
• continuous monitoring of foreign materials and teleworking resources
• preparation of specific courses to educate and prepare unemployed for teleworking
• preparation of Internet teleworking portal
• education of target groups in information literacy
• seminars for potential teleworking employers about teleworking potential
• dissemination of prepared program through labour offices to address job seekers
• drafts to change current legislation framework to support teleworking
• more systematic cooperation with Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Labour Offices and Regional Offices
• international teleworking conference
• nation-wide seminars about teleworking
• establishment of the official national teleworking association

Innovation

Nature of the experimental activities to be implemented	Rating
Guidance, counselling	**
Training	***
Training on work place	*
Work placement	*
Employment aids (+ for self-employment)	***
Integrated measures (pathway to integration)	***
Employment creation and support	**
Training of teachers, trainers and staff	*
Improvement of employment services, Recruitment structures	**
Conception for training programs, certification	*
Anticipation of technical changes	*
Work organisation, improvement of access to work places	****
Guidance and social services	*
Awareness raising, information, publicity	*
Studies and analysis of discrimination features	*

 

Type of innovation	Rating
Process-oriented	****
Goal-oriented	*
Context oriented	*

The aim of this project is to systematically focus on teleworking as an innovative form of employment. The principle of our innovation is based on new methods and tools, which will help problematic job-seekers to succeed in labour market. As a project output, we will establish the national teleworking association, which is not present in the Czech Republic yet.
New methods:

• teleworking centers, where mainly women can easily work as in the office, not far from kindergartens (this principle is not present in the Czech Republic, but works abroad)
• continuous and systematic work with employers, educating them about gender equality and information technologies ? why to use teleworking as a systém solution for unemployment in the Czech Republic

New tools:

• free education and motivation courses for problematic job-seekers, which should educate and prepare for teleworking and working with computers. Other aspect lies in professional education.
• motivation courses for employers and teleworking benefits
• Present Internet cafes do not provide for adequate space for teleworking and are too expensive for the unemployed
• motivation brochure about teleworking case studies and benefits