Reference year 2026
Version 2026
Drafted by Darko Mali, Senior adviser for CPI - Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for VET, and member of Cedefop's community of apprenticeship experts for Slovenia
The apprenticeship pathway is regulated by the Apprenticeship Act adopted in 2017.
(Zakon o vajeništvu, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 25/2017)
The Apprenticeship Act defines the conditions and regulations for the practical training in companies. All other aspects of the apprenticeship scheme (curricula, schools, assessment, final examination…) are regulated by the complementary Organisation and Financing of Education Act (Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobraževanja) and the Vocational Education Act (Zakon o poklicnem in strokovnem izobraževanju).
Apprenticeship is defined as “a training pathway of upper-secondary vocational education and of continuous vocational education”.
(Apprenticeship Act, §1)
In the national context, “vocational education” (“poklicno izobraževanje”) indicates 3-years curricula and differentiates from “technical or professional education” (tehniško ali strokovno izobraževanje” that indicates 4-years curricula.
An apprentice is a (regular) student enrolled into the apprenticeship pathway of upper-secondary vocational programmes.
The current apprenticeship scheme is an alternative pathway of the upper-secondary vocational education (EQF level 4), open to anyone that signs an apprenticeship agreement with an accredited training company.
There is a higher vocational study scheme at the tertiary level (višješolski študijski programi, EQF level 5). Although 40% of the scheme is carried out as practical training in companies, it is not considered apprenticeship.
Cedefop’s VET in Europe database provides additional information on the national VET system and the position of apprenticeships within it: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/vet-in-europe/systems/
The apprenticeship pathway in Slovenia is relatively new in its current form. It was (re)introduced with the Apprenticeship Act in 2017 and has been implemented gradually since the first pilot cohort in school year 2017/18, as an alternative pathway within upper-secondary vocational education (EQF level 4).
Since its launch, participation has steadily increased (both in learner numbers and in the range of vocational programmes and participating schools). In the year 2026, the apprenticeship path is available in around half of upper-secondary vocational programmes. According to the latest national monitoring data, in school year 2025/26 there are 694 apprentices enrolled in 15 schools.
In principle, programmes can be delivered either in the school-based or apprenticeship path, but actual provision depends on employers’ interest and capacity. Despite this growth, apprenticeship still represents a small share (less than 5%) of all upper-secondary vocational learners, so the scheme can be considered established as a structured national pathway, but still in a consolidation phase.
Apprenticeship in Slovenia has a long history with many discontinuations.
It was considered a main method of training young people in craft occupations at the beginning of 20th century, and even retained its position in Yugoslavia after 1946. However, the role of the state in this area was gradually strengthened due to centralized management of human resources development and the needs of sectors. Consequently, the role of craftsmen, businesses and trade associations decreased. After the education reform in the early '80s, the responsibility for VET was entirely transferred to schools.
Two parallel pathways of VET were re-introduced by the Vocational Education Act in 1996. Different vocational programmes were prepared for both pathways and jurisdictions of practical training was different. In the dual form, the provider of VET programme was the company together with the school. The person enrolled had the apprentice status with some employment elements, e.g. 50% of the time for practical training was included in years of service. The committee of experts of an authorised chamber provided the final examination for the apprentice. On the other hand, the, the final examination for students in school-based programs was provided by schools. These dual programmes were abolished in 2001.
The current concept of three-year vocational programmes was shaped through the Guidelines for the preparation of upper-secondary VET programmes (2001) and then implemented in revised programmes under the Vocational Education Act (2006). In these programmes (with only school-based path at the time), workplace learning in companies with a typical length of 24 weeks, has been a mandatory element for all learners. The 2017 apprenticeship pathway therefore did not start cooperation from scratch, rather, it formalised and deepened it by introducing an apprenticeship agreement and a delivery mode in which company-based learning exceeds 50%, while keeping the same educational standards and qualification as the school-based path.