A seminar for the project „iGEN - Interwork between generation Z and employers“ started off a new phase of preparation of informative and study materials for young graduates that start their first employment. It was also aimed at future employers that will shape their work and public profile after entering employment. The seminar took place on Thursday 1 June 2017 and 30 representatives from various businesses and industries participated. The interest was so great because employers need to raise loyal employees, keep them at their positions, develop their abilities and use the qualities of the young generation that brings new ideas, incentives and increases the level of their application in IT.
“Generation Z“ – those are young people aged 18-22, in some regard unpredictable and incomprehensible to older generations. “If only we would know what is happening in that mind of theirs?” lament sometimes parents, teachers and employers. They are confident, active, creative, are good with technical processes based on information technology. They do not like to conform to rules, overestimate their abilities, they sometimes feel better in the virtual world than in the real world. Older and experienced people find out while observing them that they “are the same as we were” as well as “they are completely different than we were”. Owners of businesses, HR managers, staff managers and team leaders and mentors of young employees appeared at the seminar.
Head of the iGEN project, doc. Ludmila Dömeová, described in her introductory part the changes and population trends in the Czech environment from WWI to recent times. She especially focused on the second part of the 20th century where the generations baby boomers, generations X,Y and Z changed their places. It was interesting to watch the fundamental differences between individual generations and at the same time the positive changes in technical and economical development of society that always came hand in hand with the change of generation.
In the following part prof. Jaroslav Havlíček talked about chosen results of research on 430 members of population GEN Z from 7 European countries: Czech republic, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Poland and Hungary. Results of the research indicate significant recommendations to education programmes in last year of high schools and high vocational school as well as for education of mentors of young future employees - especially in small businesses. In contrast to common positive determinants that correlate in all 7 European countries, the young generation is threatened by outside influences such as advertisements and omnipresent effect of mass media and social networks. These influences are often counterproductive to the effort of teachers in the last school years and also mentors in workplaces: to educate the complex personality of a young person from the aspect of social, cultural, ethical, aesthetic and economical behaviour. This is especially significant for GEN Z because there are still at the age where it is possible to influence the formative part of human character.
Ing. Marta Horáková also appeared at the seminar, she is the head of Personnel department at the Czech post company. As an experienced official of the company she acquainted the participants with practical experiences which to a great extent confirmed the conclusions of the theoretical studies on the subject.
Discussion and exchange of experiences of participants that are daily in contact with young graduates at workplaces was interesting and provocative. The confrontation of research and practice leads to further topics for educational activities in schools and workplaces.
More about the project iGEN can be found on igenproject.eu.
