This study from the Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs (RILSA) focuses on the participation of those displaced from Ukraine in further education and retraining in the Czech Republic, sharing new findings that indicate the motivations of and barriers faced by this group.

A mixed-method research model was used to produce the study, beginning with a quantitative phase followed by two qualitative phases. The quantitative segment, based on a survey of 1 022 Ukrainian with long-term or permanent residence in the Czech Republic, mapped perspectives on continuing education and retraining within state-organised programs. The qualitative part of the research addressed representatives from the state administration and their institutions, academia, NGOs, schools and representatives of employers. 

The authors of the study note that the unprecedented rise in the number of Ukrainian nationals granted temporary protection in the Czech Republic, and their free access to the labour market, has shone a light on many systemic, structural, and organisational deficiencies within the national systems of further formal education. They further observe that this has led to the adoption of ad-hoc and short-term solutions of a non-strategic nature, including instances of positive discrimination. 

The study also finds unequal application of the eligibility criteria for retraining programmes, a higher tolerance for limited proficiency in the Czech language, and efforts to lower qualification recognition standards in education or employment for refugees in comparison with Czech nationals. 

For those displaced from Ukraine who are either already planning to stay in the Czech Republic permanently or may consider doing so in the future, the publication recommends that measures for their further education and retraining need a stronger strategic, systemic basis, in order to maximise their long-term integration potential.

Read the study online in Czech here.