• Entrepreneurs
• Business information
• Certification
• CAFIA laboratories
• CAFIA opinions
• More information
• Consumers
• How to know the food market
• Results of CAFIA inspections
• Consumer rights
• List of risky sites
• Hoaxes
• Other visitors
• Press Releases
• Internships at CAFIA
• Public contracts

7. Personnel Training

Training of the CAFIA personnel is carried out in accordance with the Government resolution No. 1028/2001 approving Rules for the organisation of training courses for the personnel working in the state administrative bodies and the Central Government Office. The employees attend mandatory training programs, organised for persons working in the state administration by the Institute of State Administration, and training courses held by the internal and external lecturers that CAFIA arranges for its employees.

The training courses for the CAFIA employees are organised in accordance with a training plan. The plan, which includes professional training, training of managerial skills and language courses, is prepared at the headquarters on the basis of requirements of the individual departments and hierarchically lower organisational units (inspectorates).

The seminars, lectures and study visits organised at the level of headquarters should satisfy the common needs of persons working at the headquarters. They can also attend seminars, study visits and language courses financed from the EU educational programs or organised in cooperation with the control authorities abroad. The inspectorates arrange regional training courses, which they have to organise themselves, based on their needs. The headquarters keeps records of both types of the training.

A particular emphasis is laid on professional training of inspectors. CAFIA, being an important part of institutions assuring coordination of food safety in the Czech Republic, is aware of its importance and pays a considerable attention to this sphere also in training courses organised for its employees. Professional seminars organised in 2002 dealt predominantly with food safety, quality, system of critical points in production (HACCP), and legislation.

Taking into account that inspectors make impression of the whole organisation by their professional conduct during inspections, CAFIA pays large attention also to enhancing their expertise not only at the professional level but also with respect to their communication skills. For this reason a long-term project focusing on communication was initiated in 2002. Its aim is to help the inspectors distinguish better behaviour of different persons they come into contact with during inspections, teach them effective manners, which will strengthen their professionalism in the treatment of persons inspected.

In 2002 CAFIA focused also on the improvement of language skills of its employees. In conformity with an internal guideline that is based on the Government Resolution No 410/2000, the executive staff at the headquarters, as well as a circle of the selected employees from both the headquarters and regional inspectorates, is obliged to pass an exam in languages. Therefore, also in the years to come the language courses will have priority among the training programs.