- 2015Implementation
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
VET school graduate supply does not correspond to current labour market needs, created by the restructuring of the national economy and gradual decline in population. Three instruments were envisaged to reduce the supply-demand mismatch:
- graduate tracking;
- 'black' and 'white' lists of initial VET programmes;
- short-term forecasting of workforce demand.
Objectives
A short-term forecasting model initiated by the labour ministry is aimed at offering an estimation of the workforce needed in the main sectors of the economy and also in respective fields of study.
Description
A forecasting model was developed in 2015 under the supervision of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (COLSAF, public employment services authority). The labour ministry presents the forecast of labour market needs, structured by fields of study and regions, every year.
Sponsored by ESF and the labour ministry, two new tools 'odborogram' and 'profesiometer', focusing on human resource planning and career guidance and counselling, were developed and launched in 2019. Odborogram presents current job prospects for secondary and tertiary graduates by education programme, while profesiometer presents current prospects of occupations.
The forecasting data are used to determine a ceiling setting the maximum number of learners eligible to enrol in each VET programme. Stricter ceilings prescribed for the 2019/20 school year caused strong dissatisfaction among schools and parents so the education ministry, in many cases, changed the ceilings to accommodate their requests.
Data based on the Trexima forecasting model of Trexima Ltd. developed under the surveillance of the labour ministry, are delivered annually to self-governing regions to estimate labour market needs for respective secondary schools and programmes.
Strict regulation of entry to secondary education introduced by the 2018 amendment of the Act on VET and further specified by the education ministry decree (252/2018) led to dissatisfaction on both sides: parents and schools criticised strict formulae-based ceilings and employers criticised later weakening of these ceilings by the ministry in many cases. The decree has been replaced by a new one (292/2019) valid since 1 October 2019, influencing the regulation of the entry into schools in the 2020/21 school year. In November 2019, a new instrument allowing improving entry regulation was announced, offering graduate tracking-based data. These data will contribute to the professionalisation of intraregional negotiations on ceilings within regional platforms, within which stakeholders discuss regulations of entry into respective schools and programmes.
A portal offers an analysis of national and regional trends based on macroeconomic forecasting as well as prospects of professions and graduates based on 2019 data. The analysis is presented in profesiometer and odborogram.
The ESF project to develop the forecasting model was completed. The new government, the labour ministry and the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (COLSAF) will have to decide how to utilise the developed forecasting methodology and the Trendy práce portal. Currently, there is no agreement about portal update, with the latest data collected by Trexima.
Based on the 2021 forecasting data, regulated professions lacking in the labour market were identified. These data submitted by Trexima contributed to the identification of tertiary study programmes by the education ministry, for which the so-called 'stabilisation loans' for students can be offered.
Forecasting data on labour market needs were used by sectoral councils in the development of human resource development strategies published in 2022 within the national ESF project Sector-driven innovations for an efficient labour market in the Slovak Republic.
The new decree of the education ministry (202/2022), which sets out the criteria for determining the maximum number of learners in the first year of secondary schools also affects lower secondary VET for the first time.
No progress was made in implementation but cooperation between stakeholders was agreed at the end of 2023, documented by two national projects funded by Programme Slovakia 2021-27, which should shape future labour market intelligence systems. These projects are the Development of professional capacities of social partners and the Sector Councils Alliance - forecasting of labour market trends.
A contract with a total budget of about EUR 23.7 million has been in effect since January 2024 for the project, Development of professional capacities of social partners. It focuses on improving the quality of social dialogue and making it evidence-based. Therefore, one of the three activities focuses on capacity building to improve expertise and analytical capacity.
The main goal of the project, Sector Councils Alliance - forecasting labour market trends and needs, is to create a systemic environment for forecasting labour market needs through the expert activities of 24 sectoral councils. The project has a budget of about EUR 29.9 million and the activities explicitly include 'creating a methodological basis for the work of sectoral councils in the context of forecasting the needs of the labour market' and 'regular elaboration and submission of forecasts (analytical reports) on labour market developments in Slovakia and abroad'.
The amendment to the Act on employment services (5/2004) shifted the responsibility for detecting, monitoring and predicting development trends in the labour market, and skills necessary for performing work activities in jobs in the labour market to the Sector Councils Alliance. In addition, the education ministry has delegated the responsibility for creating and updating qualification standards and the National Qualifications System to the Sector Councils Alliance.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family
- Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth
- Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (COLSAF)
- Trexima Ltd.
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport (until 2024)
Target groups
Education professionals
- School leaders
- Guidance practitioners
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- VET providers (all kinds)
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to the integration of VET into economic, industrial, innovation, social and employment strategies, including those linked to recovery, green and digital transitions, and where VET is seen as a driver for innovation and growth. It includes national, regional, sectoral strategic documents or initiatives that make VET an integral part of broader policies, or applying a mix of policies to address an issue VET is part of, e.g. in addressing youth unemployment measures through VET, social and active labour market policies that are implemented in combination. National skill strategies aiming at quality and inclusive lifelong learning also fall into this sub-category.
This thematic sub-category refers to the ways VET is funded at the system level. Policies include optimisation of VET provider funding that allows them to adapt their offer to changing skill needs, green and digital transitions, the social agenda and economic cycles, e.g. increasing the funding for VET or for specific programmes. They can also concern changing the mechanism of how the funding is allocated to VET schools (per capita vs based on achievement or other criteria). Using EU funds and financial instruments for development of VET and skills also falls into this sub-category.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing high-quality lifelong learning and career guidance services, including making full use of Europass and other digital services and resources.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Forecasting model for labour market needs: Slovakia. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28838