A model of what the labor market in the Czech Republic will look like in the future was created two years ago by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). According to her, the lack of workers – generally across disciplines – a problem that can eventually lead to a slowdown in the Czech economy.
Already at the time of the creation of the model, the Czech labor market lacked 180,000 workers. The company predicts that by 2030, 330,000 current employees will lose their jobs because their jobs will disappear, but half a million new jobs will be created. There will be an even greater shortage of workers than at present. Moreover, they grow old, the number of people aged between 50 and 65 will increase by 18 percent by 2030.
Craftsmen are the most affected. According to BCG, it is a profession where up to 53,000 people will be missing. Next in line are cooks, who will be missing 29,000. The exact shortage cannot be calculated, but it shows a clear trend, which is to some extent due to the fact that the new generation does not go into the crafts.
Hours and hours of paperwork
According to Tomáš Kocifaj, director of the company Brilo, which helps companies navigate the digital world, one of the reasons why young people are not drawn to the trades may be the large amount of administration that the profession entails. “The issue of administration is really essential in the trades. Many craftsmen finish work on assemblies in the evening and then have to devote additional hours to paperwork.” points out for Blesk Správy Kocifaj.
This is confirmed by Otto Kočí, director of the online marketplace ePoptávka.cz, which connects suppliers with customers. “We know from experience among our clients that administrative tasks associated with orders, contracts, planning, accounting and other tasks take an average of 32 hours per month for craftsmen. This is time they could devote to orders, further development of their business or, of course, to themselves,” he describes.
Nowadays, new technologies can already help with part of the administration, but craftsmen tend not to use them. In fact, many of them still don’t even have a website. “We did our own research among three different manufacturer networks, roughly two hundred sites, when it involved sellers and partners in the field of heating, fireplace stoves, heat pumps and the like. Our findings are quite surprising. We expected that the pressure of digitalization in recent years is that Czech entrepreneurs are still further away. However, our analysis shows that 51 percent of the partners (artisans) of the selected networks do not have an online presentation at all. They are practically untraceable for customers in their locations,” Kocifaj marvels.
Thus, most craftsmen have limited their use of technology to a smartphone and answering customer emails, which are only basic tools. “Based on our experience and according to our estimates, at the moment one in five craftsmen is using some of the digital solutions to a greater extent,” adds Kočí.
A symbiosis of tradition and technology
But with the advent of artificial intelligence, new possibilities are opening up. “Let’s imagine that instead of long hours spent in administration a craftsman can use a voice assistant to dictate invoices, prepare quotes or send documents while on the way to the next job. This level of digitization could significantly reduce the administrative burden and allow craftsmen to devote themselves fully to their work,” outlines Kocifaj.
He also sees digitization as a way to make craft fields more attractive to the younger generation, or to reduce barriers to entry into these fields. “Although the human hand will remain irreplaceable in crafts, technology can and should serve to maximize their potential. It seems that the future of crafts lies in the mutual symbiosis of tradition and technology,” says Kocifaj.
