Úřad práce ČR (Czech Labour Office) has launched the Vzdělávání pro firmy (“Training for companies”) programme. Through it, the state contributes not only to the course itself but also to the employee's wages for the duration of the training. The money is available on a rolling basis until 2028, it applies across the whole Czech Republic including Prague — and practical AI training falls within the supported areas. The catch is elsewhere: there are a lot of conditions, and most of the mistakes that cost money happen before any learning has even started.
How much your company actually gets
The programme counts in person-hours — one person, one hour of training. It does not reimburse invoices but pays fixed unit rates: what you actually pay for the course is irrelevant, it is the documented hours that get reimbursed. After deducting the company's co-financing (23.27%), you receive:
If the company does not apply for the wage component, the training contribution alone remains: CZK 20,858 per person, or CZK 26,073 for employees aged 50 and over. The contribution falls under the de minimis regime — it counts towards the ceiling for small-scale state aid (EUR 300,000 over 3 years), which you can check in the Centrální registr de minimis (the Czech central register of de minimis aid).
Who can apply
- Business corporations — s.r.o., a.s., v.o.s., k.s. (Czech limited companies, joint-stock companies and partnerships) and cooperatives.
- Self-employed people — with or without employees (self-employed people without employees only receive the training contribution, not the wage refund).
- State enterprises and business legal entities established by a special act.
Schools, public administration, associations and professional bodies, on the other hand, cannot apply. You can train employees with an employment contract for at least 10 hours a week that will run for at least 3 more months after the course ends. People on DPP and DPČ (Czech short-term work agreements) are not covered — nor is a managing director whose contract was signed with themselves.
Does AI training qualify?
Yes. The supported area is IT skills above basic level — and that is exactly where practical work with AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot and others), automation and the deployment of AI in company processes belong. The boundary matters: everyday email or the basics of office software are not supported. The training must therefore be designed — and described in the documentation — so that it clearly goes beyond that level. Also not supported: mandatory training (health and safety, company-driver exams), e-learning, self-study, coaching, conferences or meetings. And one important rule: the course must be delivered by an external provider, not by one of your own employees.
Conditions where companies most often slip up
- At least 50 hours of training per participant — the programme will not support a shorter course.
- Groups of max. 15 people, and the composition must not change during the course. Any number of groups can run.
- Attendance of at least 80% of the teaching — otherwise nothing is paid for that participant.
- Online teaching only partly from home — at least one participant must be physically in the classroom or at the workplace. “Everyone from home” is ruled out.
- Documentation decides — missing documents mean zero for the person-hours concerned, incomplete ones a 5% cut. An unreported change of date or an unmarked classroom costs 3% of the entire contribution paid out.
None of this is insurmountable. But all of it has to be thought through in advance, because the contribution is paid retrospectively, only after the training has ended and been documented.
Timing: allow a few weeks from application to the first training hour
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, until 31 August 2028 at the latest — but the funds are not an entitlement, and each application is assessed individually by the regional branch.
- Training can start from 24 August 2026 — in practice, though, approval, the agreement with the Labour Office, participants' entry questionnaires and the rule of 10 working days from sending the attachments all lie between the application and the first hour.
- A change of date must be reported in writing at least 3 working days in advance.
- The settlement must be documented by the end of the month following the end of the course — missing the deadline means losing the entitlement. The Labour Office then pays within 30 days.
The company submits the application itself via the Labour Office application, logging in with Identita občana (the Czech government's digital identity) — the programme allows no other route.
How I help you with this
Your company draws the grant; I am the external training provider. I make sure the course meets the conditions from the design stage onwards:
- I design AI training tailored to your teams — in the scope and structure the programme supports.
- I provide the documents for the application — documentation of the training content, the schedule, attendance sheets and certificates of completion.
- I keep an eye on delivery — classroom signage, attendance records, recordings for online sessions. Exactly what companies trip up on during inspections.
- I prepare the settlement documents and watch the deadline after which the entitlement lapses.
Frequently asked questions
Does the programme also apply to companies in Prague?
Yes. Vzdělávání pro firmy runs across the whole Czech Republic, including Prague — unlike OP TAK investment grants (an EU-funded Czech programme for business), which exclude Prague.
Do we have to pay for the training first?
Yes. The contribution arrives retrospectively after the training has ended and the documents have been submitted, within 30 days of complete documentation.
Will you handle the application for us?
The company applies through the Labour Office application (Identita občana). But I provide the complete documents and guide you through the process step by step — that is most of the work.
When should we start?
As soon as possible. Allow a few weeks from the application to the first training hour — and the sooner you start, the sooner you draw funds, before the allocations run out.