Over the next several years, a large segment of the Czech workforce will need to retrain to adapt to changing job demands, according to Labor Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL).
Even traditionally manual fields like agriculture are evolving, with workers now operating digital systems and coordinating with satellite technologies. Approximately 70,000 workers are expected to require complete retraining for entirely new career paths.
“The jobs, as we know them today, will essentially disappear within the next five years,” Jurečka said Monday during the “Employment Forum” conference, hosted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MPSV) and the Association of HR Specialists of the Czech Republic.
Jurečka stressed that the shift will affect a wide range of professions, from administrative and analytical positions increasingly handled by artificial intelligence to manufacturing roles being eliminated through automation.
“These figures come from data collected from companies and HR specialists who themselves identified the roles that will no longer be needed,” he added.
The minister warned that artificial intelligence will rapidly transform the skillsets needed across industries. Around 600,000 employees will face major disruption, while another 1.7 million will experience moderate to significant changes to their work.
Education and retraining efforts are crucial to managing this transformation, Jurečka emphasized. “Creating an environment where people are motivated to retrain voluntarily is the biggest challenge,” he stated.
Without retraining, many workers could face unemployment. “This is a real threat. There is even discussion about the state introducing a mechanism where individuals who struggle to retrain—especially from industries undergoing automation—would receive regular state benefits instead of wages,” said Jaroslava Rezlerová, President of the Association of HR Specialists of the Czech Republic and CEO of staffing firm ManpowerGroup.
