2024

National project ‘Individualised and Comprehensive Approach Focusing on Counselling/Career Guidance’ 

In February 2024, the national project Individualised and Comprehensive Approach Focusing on Counselling/Career Guidance (Individualizovaný a komplexný prístup so zameraním na poradenské činnosti/Poradenstvom k zamestnaniu) was launched. It is implemented through Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family as an active measure on the labour market and it aims to improve access to employment for disadvantaged job applicants and young people. The national project will be implemented between January 2024 and December 2028.

The project focuses on increasing employment chances for disadvantaged job applicants and NEET (not in employment, education, or training) young people applying for jobs. The main aim of the project is to ensure the availability of individualised approaches and counselling, including career guidance.

The national project aims to increase the employability of disadvantaged and young job applicants, increase work motivation, increase their competitiveness in the labour market and improve so-called soft factors influencing employability. During the project implementation, professionally trained counsellors will increase their individualised approach and counselling skills, as well as ICT skills, to ensure the availability and accessibility of counselling for all identified target groups. 

2023

National Strategy for Research, Development, and Innovation 2030

In May 2023, the Government‘s  Research and Innovation Authority introduced the National Strategy for Research, Development, and Innovation 2030 (Národná stratégia výskumu, vývoja a inovácií 2030), which aims to increase the competitiveness of the economy and the quality of life through the support of research, innovation, and talent. The Action Plan for the National Strategy for Research, Development, and Innovation 2030 (Akčný plán národnej stratégie výskumu, vývoja a inovácií 2030), which was published alongside the strategy, defines the schedule of tasks required to meet the goals of the national strategy in this area.  The reform also includes measures focusing on the development of the educational system’s quality.

The action plan describes the following measures in lifelong learning and transversal skills:

• Support of international mobility of researchers,
• Creation of a unit for talent development and integration,
• Introduction of a series of programmes to establish cooperation with talent from abroad,
• Strengthening of lifelong learning managing capacity at the Ministry of Education, Research, Development, and Youth of the Slovak Republic,
• Institutionalisation and support of language education of foreigners,
• Creation of an educational scheme for employees of public research and development organisations and municipalities on PPP for the development of research and innovation ecosystem,
• Creation of a new Action Plan for Open Science for 2023-2024,
• Increased funding of European Partnerships,
• Support of citizen science and popularisation of research in the form of mini-grants.

2022

Action plan for the Strategy of lifelong learning and counseling for the years 2022-2024

On April 21, 2022, the Government of the Slovak Republic approved the Action Plan for the Strategy of Lifelong Education and Counseling for the years 2022-2024 (Akčný plán k Stratégii celoživotného vzdelávania a poradenstva na roky 2022 – 2024). The task of this document is to elaborate and specify the measures approved in the Strategy for the given period of the coming years 2022-2024. 

The action plan contains a plan of activities for the specified time period, which is based on the defined thematic areas of the Strategy and the measures proposed in them. Each measure contains a proposal for a set of activities aimed at achieving the goals of the given measure, as well as the overall goals of the Strategy, output indicators, institutions involved in their implementation, and an indication of possible financial resources. Financing of the activities is planned to a large extent from EU funds from the program period 2021-2027 through the Slovakia Programme. 

The action plan also includes measures to support employment and the development of cross-cutting skills. Arrangements were made for 

• introduction of a pilot funding scheme and pilot introduction of tools for mapping, assessing and testing the level of  basic skills for low-skilled adults,
• linking national databases of qualifications and educational opportunities with the Europass portal,
• preparation of a draft law on the recognition of the results of previous education,
• increasing the flexibility of the qualification system with smaller qualifications and micro-qualifications (micro-certificates),
• development of the system of professional advisory services within the framework of employment services by introducing functional client profiling tools and increasing the availability and quality of individualized professional advisory services provided by public employment services.