Industry Seeks New Talent, Children New Opportunities A Meeting of the Confederation of Industry H
26 ǀ POSITIV 4/2025
VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ
Industry Seeks New Talent,
Children New Opportunies
A Meeng of the Confederaon of Industry
Hosted The First Lady Eva Pavlová
On November 13, the Libros complex in Ostrava turned into a place where the region’s future met
its greatest challenges. Under the patronage and with the parcipaon of First Lady Eva Pavlová,
a meeng of the “Key to the World” project took place, bringing together industrial companies,
representaves of schools, children’s homes and young people who are only just looking for their
own path. And one thing was clear in every discussion and every personal experience: technical
elds need new talent – and young talent, in turn, needs a chance.
Companies Feel the Pressure: Technical
Fields Are Disappearing From Young
People’s Radar
“Today, young people simply aren’t
interested in metallurgy or traditional
industrial disciplines. They just don’t find
them attractive,” says Robert Zvoníček, HR
Director of Třinecké železárny. His words
echo at every similar meeting, but today
they resonate even more strongly – perhaps
because they come from someone whose
company is a symbol of the region.
Zvoníček also points out that companies
are facing a combination of pressures:
modernisation, decarbonisation, rising
energy prices and competition from cheap
imports. “And when you add the shortage
of qualified people, it’s clear that we need
to think differently. That’s why we’re
restructuring our industrial school so it
reflects today’s technologies and what
young people truly want,” he adds.
In technical fields, it is no longer just
about recruitment. It’s about convincing
Generation Z that industry is not dirty, dead-
end work – but a sector with a real future.
Hyundai: Modern Manufacturing Relies
Not Only on Robots, but Above All
on People
On the opposite side of the hall stands
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech
representative Barbara Hermanová. When
she speaks about recruitment, she describes
the situation clearly and succinctly: “There
are too few graduates from technical
fields. It’s simply demographics — in some
year groups, fewer children were born.
And modern manufacturing needs people,
not just robots.”
Hyundai has therefore been investing
in students, schools and universities for
many years. It supports teams in the Horizon
Hydrogen Grand Prix competition, has
donated more than 150 cars for educational
purposes, and offers paid internships for
students of VŠB–TUO. But it’s not only
about technology — it’s about a relationship
with schools that allows the company to be
visible where it truly matters.
And it is precisely here that the interests
of companies and children from children’s
homes meet.
A Chance That Can Change a Life: Support
for Children’s Homes is no Longer Just
CSR — It’s Strategy
At the event, it was clear that cooperation
with children’s homes is no longer a PR
gesture. It is a deliberate investment
in people who might otherwise end
up outside the system.
Třinecké železárny involved children from
the Children’s Home in Frýdek-Místek in the
Night of Scientists, where they saw modern
operations and the extent of automation.
Hyundai meanwhile expanded its
programme Together for Dreams with
a new initiative, Together Behind the Wheel,
through which it finances driving licences
for children from children’s homes — and on
top of that organised a career day for them
directly at the manufacturing plant.
“It was wonderful to see the children
asking questions, showing interest, trying
things out. And above all — seeing that they
want to,” says one of the participants from
Hyundai’s HR team.
It’s no different for smaller companies. Petr
Bilavčík from Prima Bilavčík, a company
specialising in measurement technology,
puts it plainly: “Our field is very specific.
The best approach is to train a person from
their school years. And if we can support
children from the refuge home in Uherský
Brod, we’re glad to do it.”
Key to the World Showed the Most
Important Lesson: When a Region Unites,
it Can Change Lives
The entire meeting carried a special energy.
It wasn’t just about presentations, but about
a genuine exchange of experience: what
works in companies, how schools engage
with young people, what children from
children’s homes truly need. The hands-
on programme on the training polygon
— from safe driving to emergency-service
techniques — added a sense of surprise
and joy. And that is exactly the mix that
ensures children take away far more than
just a leaflet.
Everyone agreed on one point: the region
needs technicians, and technicians need
opportunities. If the Moravian-Silesian
Region manages to connect companies,
schools and children who would otherwise
never get close to technical fields, it can
change its future much faster than we think.
The Key to the World project is therefore
not just an inspiration — it is a blueprint.
And today’s meeting in Ostrava showed
that the path forward lies in cooperation,
openness and the courage to look ahead.