An
interview with
V ladimír D louhý , P resident
of the
“I don't like the distorted image of entrepreneurs in our country” “Czech exporters with small and medium sized enterprises still rely greatly on a joint EU market,” says Vladimír Dlouhý. He adds that the Czech Chamber of Commerce makes special efforts to introduce them to markets outside of the EU, where higher, long-term margins and added value may be realized. What other challenges are awaiting the market, and how can we make the lives of entrepreneurs easier? Dear President, recently at the Czech Chamber of Commerce assembly, you talked about the most pressing problems of entrepreneurs. Can you name them? At the assembly I introduced ten such problems. The first one is the lack of technically educated graduates; this is what not only home companies complain about, but foreign investors as well. It is quite interesting that one of the guests of honor mentioned in his speech that Czech companies leave the country for Germany because the workforce there is more skilled. At the same time, I have pointed out the process of starting up a business, which is very lengthy and encumbered by many obstacles in the Czech Republic. And after finally establishing a business, entrepreneurs are met by a never ending battle on many frontiers, especially with continuously changing regulations and corresponding standards. Such instability imposes the greatest burden on small and medium sized enterprises, while it is they who should be prioritized in the Czech environment. What other “appeals” have you made? I tried to point out that we should use the present period of macroeconomic growth for consolidating public finances. The fifth appeal to our government was the necessity to create a motivational environment for connecting businesses with research, and removing the low connection of VVIs (Veřejná výzkumná instituce - Public Research Institutions) with practical use. Members of our Chamber also complain about the way of communication with tax administrators, and so we are calling for a visible and permanent effort to simplify the communication between financial authorities and entrepreneurs. I also think that in the past the state was only supporting the exports of big companies, while small and medium sized enterprises were put aside. We should definitely also focus on drawing from the EU structural funds, which represent a chance
for strategic and sustainable projects in the new programming period. What we worry about a lot is a total freeze of transport infrastructure development – it is a scandal that Prague’s orbital and highway to České Budějovice have not been completed yet. And finally, I don´t like the distorted image of entrepreneurs in our country, which I partly blame on government rhetoric. Regarding the lack of technically educated graduates, you invited the government to present a concrete plan ensuring an increasing state support of technical education. What exactly would you recommend? Generally, it is necessary to increase the interest of young people in apprenticeships and technical professions. It is necessary to begin to inspire and motivate children in kindergartens and basic schools. The re-introducing of school subjects such as handcraft, or tools such as polytechnic kits will help to prevent a decline of pupils´ manual skills, and create a positive feeling about engineering. It is necessary to change the way parents think too, who would rather send their children to grammar schools, while there are too many of these schools in our country. If the child is skillful, they should rather choose a professional school. Cooperation with regional and local authorities could be a solution too. For example, if the authorities start preparing short time job market predictions, they may flexibly adjust the type of education we offer. I am convinced that the government also has to change the system of financing for our regional education system. They must step back from financing “per pupil”, and on the contrary, evaluate schools based on the quality and competitiveness of their graduates. The Chamber of Commerce will also promote the employers´ participation in deciding which professions would be offered, and for how many pupils, for a specific school year. At the assembly, you also mentioned that the government should increase support to small and medium sized enterprises in the area of export. Are the current activities of the Ministry of Industry and Trade so insufficient? In the past, the state focused mainly on the big export companies, unfortunately with a catastrophic impact on the EGAP and ČEB portfolios. Small and medium sized enterprises were always viewed as a second priority, that
C zech C hamber
of
C ommerce P hoto : A rchive
would connect their supply with the big and supported players, and thus be in a position of dependent sub-suppliers. I think it is correct to maintain the export support of big businesses, but on top of that, it would be proper to help small and medium sized enterprises to develop as final suppliers in the world markets. At the same time, it is necessary to support Czech businesses in their export to regions based on profitability. Where exactly do you see potential for small and medium sized enterprises and in which fields? Czech exporters with small and medium sized enterprises still rely greatly on a joint EU market, so their supplies go to already quite saturated, and highly competitive markets of EU member countries. This is the evidence of high quality and competitive Czech companies, however the Czech Chamber of Commerce makes special efforts to introduce them to markets outside of the EU, where in the long-term, higher margins and additional value may be realized. Besides China and India, this means the Near and Middle East countries, South America, and some African countries too. Many Czech companies deliver to these territories via re-export through Germany, which however suppresses development of the “Czech Republic” brand abroad, and distorts the statistics regarding the real share of Czech products in the world markets. We want to gradually change that. Regarding perspective fields, it is clear that Czech companies build on our national traditions, and engineering will always dominate. However, there are for example some smaller Czech IT companies which were able to successfully compete in the USA, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, etc. We are also strong in environmental technologies, renewable energy, the construction industry, and infrastructure will
C zech L eaders III/2015
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