(CZ) Výchova k volbě povolání, její podstata a problematika
(EN) Vocational Guidance, Its Substance and Its Problems

At the beginning of the 20th century there arose a social need for coping with the problem of the choice of people’s careers for the benefit of both the society and the individual. »Scientific management« (taylorism) and psychotechnics (branch of science concerned with the practical application of psychology in the service of cultural tasks) began to penetrate into the organization of production. This need arose primarily from the interests of the capitalists, whose aim was to raise the output of the productive forces in industry. Because even in industrial production the decisive factor is man, the latter’s physical and mental qualities began to be examined with the aim of finding what kind of work he was most suitable for so that he could be employed in a way that was best and most economical for the firm. These tasks were to be carried out by vocational guidance centres, which began to appear as new institutions at the beginning of the 20th century. The first one was established in Boston in 1908. In our country the first vocational guidance centres were founded in the twenties. Most of them were attached to district social welfare and social health institutes. In the fifties, however, they were incorrectly denounced as unsuitable for a socialist society and consequently abolished. The placement of children in occupations was carried out by an administrative recruitment system. These shortcomings have been partially removed since 1962, when vocational guidance was introduced. The task was entrusted to the basic school, where one of the teachers, In addition to his normal teaching duties, performs the function of a vocational guidance officer. In the way of methodology he is being helped by regional pedagogical institutes — at the present time by the newly established region al guidance centres. Vocational guidance in our country is at present comprised in the entire educational and teaching process. It has special tasks of its own, first and foremost among these being self-revelation, self- education, formation of ideas about the main groups of occupations, and education forming the relationship to work and people. These tasks permeate all the components of the educational process — through care, direct and indirect educational influence. On the whole, vocational guidance tasks can be summed up in the following five areas:
1. general education,
2. instruction and information about the basic kinds of work and the main occupation groups.
3. orientation to an occupation,
4. the actual choice of one’s occupation,
5. following how each individual adapts himself in the new environment.
Even though 15-year-old children cannot generally decide independently and consciously about the choice of their occupations, their physiological, Intellectual and social maturity proves, however, that they can enter vocational preparation. In order to promote Intensive development of our economy, in which it is necessary to make full use of each individual’s capabilities, our authorities are now considering the establishment of a vocational guidance system of a socialist type.