- 2020Approved/Agreed
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
In 2015-19, attracting young people to VET has been supported through the Scholarship policy, adopted by the Government of Slovenia in 2015. According to the professional guidelines, prepared by the Public scholarship, development, disability and maintenance fund of the Republic of Slovenia, in cooperation with the Employment Service of Slovenia, most of the deficit professions are still at the upper secondary VET level. Enrolment in some programmes increased in the period 2015-19 (e.g. carpenter) while in some professions even scholarships are not an incentive to increase enrolment (e.g. chimney sweep).
Objectives
The main objective of the Scholarship policy is to encourage young people to enrol in vocational and technical education programmes in upper secondary education.
Other objectives are:
- preventing the mismatch between labour supply and demand;
- improving enrolment in the fields of education that are important for economic development and employability;
- encouraging enrolment in upper secondary vocational and technical programmes at risk of extinction due to insufficient enrolment interest but still relevant for the labour market;
- promoting VET.
Description
The Scholarship policy 2020-24 includes an overview of the legal bases and of the scholarship allocation system, an overview and indicators of the Scholarship policy 2014-19, describes the current situation on the labour market, and defines deficit areas for the next five years. It sets up the implementation framework for awarding scholarships for professions in deficit (goals, funding, indicators) to encourage young people to study for these professions (programme 'Scholarship for deficit profession'). To achieve this goal, approximately 1 000 scholarships are awarded each academic year by the Public scholarship, development, disability and maintenance fund of the Republic of Slovenia. The Scholarship policy falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ).
More specifically, the work done in the framework of the scholarship policy consists of the following parts/steps:
- monitoring of the situation on labour market and the entry of young people into educational programmes;
- collecting of data based on the cooperation with employers, data collected by the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) and/or in the framework of ESS employment forecast and data obtained by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.
Based on this data the ministry sets up vocations in demand/shortage occupation and education programmes, that are included in the scholarship policy. The...
The Scholarship policy 2020-24 includes an overview of the legal bases and of the scholarship allocation system, an overview and indicators of the Scholarship policy 2014-19, describes the current situation on the labour market, and defines deficit areas for the next five years. It sets up the implementation framework for awarding scholarships for professions in deficit (goals, funding, indicators) to encourage young people to study for these professions (programme 'Scholarship for deficit profession'). To achieve this goal, approximately 1 000 scholarships are awarded each academic year by the Public scholarship, development, disability and maintenance fund of the Republic of Slovenia. The Scholarship policy falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ).
More specifically, the work done in the framework of the scholarship policy consists of the following parts/steps:
- monitoring of the situation on labour market and the entry of young people into educational programmes;
- collecting of data based on the cooperation with employers, data collected by the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) and/or in the framework of ESS employment forecast and data obtained by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.
Based on this data the ministry sets up vocations in demand/shortage occupation and education programmes, that are included in the scholarship policy. The ministry annually updates this information based on recent data and, if necessary, supplements the scholarship policy. The shortage fields are determined yearly in cooperation with the social partners and youth representatives.
The Scholarship policy 2020-24 was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on 27 January 2020.
From 2020/21 onwards, the scholarships have been financed only by the Ministry of Labour. In 2021, 1 006 new scholarships were awarded, bringing the total to 2 885 active scholarship holders.
At the end of 2022 the programme 'Scholarship for deficit profession', started in 2016 and financed by ESF and the Ministry of Labour, was concluded. Nevertheless, it continues to be implemented and funded within the MDDSZ regular activities.
Following information about the 'first phase' of the programme are important to mention: From school year 2016/17 to 2019/20 3 564 students have been included into the scholarship programme. The highest number of scholarships were allocated to the programmes for Joiner (carpenter, woodworker), Industrial Mechanic, Electrician and Confectioner. The lowest numbers of scholarships were allocated to the programmes for Metal construction maker, Chimney sweep and Tinsmith - Roofer.
For the 2022/23 school year the scholarship amounts to EUR 102,4.
For the 2023/24 school year, 1 000 new scholarships for deficit professions were awarded, each amounting to EUR 118.48 per month. The highest number of scholarships were allocated to the programmes woodworker, confectioner, and gastronomy and tourism technician/hotelier-gastronomist, while the lowest were awarded to the programmes stonecutter, painter-calligrapher, and glazier. As of 31 December 2023, the total number of scholarship recipients was 2 890.
The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, in cooperation with relevant partners, is preparing the new scholarship policy for professions in deficit 2025-2029, which is set to be adopted in early 2025.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ)
- Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and Maintenance Fund
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
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 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.
High-quality and timely skills intelligence is a powerful policy tool, helping improve economic competitiveness and fostering social progress and equality through the provision of targeted skills training to all citizens (Cedefop, 2020). Skills intelligence is the outcome of an expert-driven process of identifying, analysing, synthesising and presenting quantitative and/or qualitative skills and labour market information. Skills intelligence draws on data from multiple sources, such as graduate tracking systems, skills anticipation mechanisms, including at sectoral and regional levels. Actions related to establishing and developing such systems fall under this thematic sub-category.
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 all kinds of incentives that encourage learners to take part in VET and lifelong learning; VET providers to improve, broaden and update their offer; companies to provide places for apprenticeship and work-based learning, and to stimulate and support learning of their employees. It also includes measures addressing specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) willing to create work-based learning opportunities in different sectors. Incentives can be financial (e.g. grants, allowances, tax incentives, levy/grant mechanisms, vouchers, training credits, individual learning accounts) and non-financial (e.g. information/advice on funding opportunities, technical support, mentoring).
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Scholarship policies: Slovenia. 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/40661