- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Completed
Background
The National system of occupations (NSO) and a related web platform containing a labour-market-information system was created within earlier ESF projects. Occupational standards were developed by respective sectoral councils (SC) and approved by the Alliance of sectoral councils. Further progress is needed to adjust NSO and the NSO web platform to the challenges induced by new technologies.
Objectives
The aim of the national ESF project Sector-driven innovations for an efficient labour market in the Slovak Republic is to create measures for continuous improvement of employees' adaptability to new labour market requirements and more accurate identification of the skills needs of the workforce through the NSO web platform (based on employer demand).
Description
The budget for this 2019-23 ESF project managed by the labour ministry in cooperation with Trexima Ltd. is approximately EUR 20 million. The main activities include:
- managing activities of the Alliance of sectoral councils, SC activities and working groups, in accordance with the strategic tasks of the current National employment strategy;
- ensuring sector-driven adaptation of workers to changes in labour market demand and sectoral inputs for a lifelong learning system with a special focus on VET;
- developing comprehensive information sources for sectoral partnerships, expansion and updating of NSO information system, ensuring compatibility of classifications and codes and a relevant source of information for decision-making processes leading to an efficient labour market;
- holding eight workshops (twice a year) and three conferences in line with good practice in EU countries.
24 SCs are operational to fulfil respective tasks within their scope of activity, for example in the fields of agriculture, veterinary and fisheries, food industry, and electrical engineering.
The 24 SCs were activated to adjust some job profiles to the challenges of new technologies.
Within this project, respective SCs elaborated sectoral human resource development strategies, based on common guidelines. These strategies were reviewed by external experts from academia and the business world and are in the process of updating.
Revision of the 1 509 occupational standards developed earlier, and elaboration of around 300 new standards were in progress. 1 100 updated standards were approved. New and revised occupational standards are accessible on respective councils' websites. The councils' websites also contain status quo analyses, information on innovations and trends in the sector until 2030. All councils have completed their human resource development strategies. Executive summaries of all sectoral strategies have been already published, while full documents are available on request. Ranking of education providers in respective sectors is under development with expected publishing by mid-2022.
By 31 December 2022, there were 1 372 occupational standards revised, 460 newly developed and 66 still to be completed to reach the final number of 1 898 occupations.
The websites of respective sectoral councils reported on activities of the final year of the project, of which the following two are the most interesting:
Although all sectoral councils were asked to create a ranking of education providers, a vast majority of them focused on the identification of relevant assessment criteria without making the ranking public even in case it were created. It can be concluded that sectoral specialists understand any ranking as a composite indicator reflecting a set of input indicators that can be selected for a specific purpose rather than as a 'quality index' per se;
Evaluation of the functionality and efficiency of the sectoral councils was carried out based on a 53-item questionnaire sent to all members of sectoral councils. The performance of the tasks stipulated by the Act on employment services (5/2004) was examined. The opinions related to the development of occupational standards and human resource development strategies and future challenges.
The project has been completed. Sector councils will exploit the experience gained in this project in their further work within the Sector Councils Alliance (SCA), which was newly constituted by the 2022 amendment to the Act on employment services (5/2004). At the same time, the SCA is implementing several projects financed by the Programme Slovakia 2021-27, which should bring systemic changes to all segments of VET, including the revision of occupational and qualification standards in the future.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family
Target groups
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 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 initiatives that promote VET and lifelong learning implemented at any level and by any stakeholder. It also covers measures to ensure and broaden access to information about VET to various target groups, including targeted information and promotional campaigns (e.g. for parents, adult learners, vulnerable groups). Among others, it includes national skill competitions and fairs organised to attract learners to VET.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Sector-driven innovations for an efficient labour market: 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/35321