Professional services
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NACE 2002 - 70 Real estate activities
NACE 2002 - 71 Renting of machinery and equipment without operator and of personal and household goods
NACE 2002 - 73 Research and development
NACE 2002 - 74.1 - 74.4 Legal, accounting, book-keeping and auditing activities, tax consultancy, market research and public opinion polling, business and management consultancy, holdings; Architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy;Technical testing and analysis; Advertising
The industry of professional services covers a wide spectrum of activities focused predominantly on businesses. These include real estate and renting, research and development, law and accounting, taxation and business consultancy, market research, architectonic and advertising activities. While in Western Europe this industry accounts for a significant part of employment, countries in Central and Eastern Europe lag behind in this respect. The development of professional services is largely influenced by the outsourcing trend - i.e. transferring some services or specialised activities to external suppliers. This is a common practice in the West and it has been recently spread around the CR by foreign investors demanding the same services as those in their countries of origin. The professional services industry currently employs some 4.3% of people in the economy. The EU-15 average is higher by one half (6.5%).
As the economy develops it is likely that the proportion of professional services in total employment will increase further. In 2020 the share of people employed in his segment could be 23% higher compared to 2008 and could reach up to 234 thousand.
The outsourcing trend will, to a degree, affect most segments of the industry having a slightly negative influence on their employment levels. Growth in employment will occur, above all, in legal and accounting activities, tax consultancy, market research advice, marketing and management. The real estate segment should remain stable, since there is long-term potential despite the current drop in demand for housing and commercial facilities. It is expected that this slowdown will only be of temporary nature and the recovery will be characterised by improvement of the quality of services that will be the driving force behind competitiveness. Language skills and the capacity to communicate with partners and potential clients in other markets will be increasingly important for the employees in the sector (the interest on the part of foreign investors in buying property in the CR is growing and, conversely, Czechs will more frequently invest in real estate abroad). Growing demands for marketing and IT skills will help companies better identify and address selected target groups.
Employment in the research and development subsection is also likely to grow. The CR has a lower proportion of employment in this subsection as compared to developed countries. Increase can be expected particularly in relation to the rising levels of resources available for research and development in ESF operating programmes. Scientists and experts in technology, chemistry and ICT should experience the most significant growth in labour market demand.
As regards accounting services there are forecasts of a growing demand for financial controllers and auditors who are responsible for checking on financial management of companies and proposing measure to increase their financial effectiveness and efficiency. This trend will also be supported by an expected increase in the number of businesses that will be obliged by law to have their financial management audited by an independent body.
