27 January 2020, Bratislava. This report, “OECD Skills Strategy Slovak Republic: Assessment and Recommendations”, identifies opportunities and makes recommendations to strengthen the skills of youth, reduce skills imbalances, foster greater participation in adult learning and strengthen the use of skills in the workplace.

1. OECD SKILLS STRATEGY
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Ludger Schuknecht
Deputy Secretary-General, OECD
OECD Centre for Skills
https://www.oecd.org/skills/centre-for-skills
27 January 2020, Bratislava

2. 2
WHY DO SKILLS MATTER?

3. 3
Differences between the % of adults with high and low literacy proficiency reporting
strong social outcomes, unadjusted, 2012/2015
Skills matter for individual well-being
Source: OECD (2019), OECD Skills Surveys: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (database), https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Employed in labour marketHigh levels of political
efficacy
Good to excellent health Participation in volunteer
activities
%-point
Slovak Republic OECD average

4. AustraliaAustria
Canada Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Flanders (Belgium)
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Korea
Lithuania
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Israel
R² = 0.2123
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.8
4.0
4.2
4.4
4.6
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3
Labour productivity
(log)
Mean use of reading skills at work
Skills matter for economic prosperity
Labour productivity and the use of reading skills at work, PIAAC 2012/2015
Adjusted for literacy and numeracy proficiency
4Source: OECD (2019), OECD Skills Surveys: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (database), https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/

5. Megatrends are transforming the skills
needed for success in work and life
GLOBALISATION
TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGE
DEMOGRAPHIC
CHANGE
Rapid development of
new technologies
Emergence of new forms
of work
Expansion of sources of
learning, especially
online
More integrated world
economy than ever
Emergence of global
value chains, offshoring
and outsourcing
Increased vulnerability of
some workers
Large expected decline
in working-age
population
Important reallocations
towards care services
Need to ensure youth
have the right skills

6. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70%
Source: Nedelkoska and Quintini (2018)
Jobs at risk of Automation
Share of jobs at HIGH RISK (>70%) of automation and at SIGNIFICANT RISK (50-70%)
Many jobs are at risk of
being automated
6
34%
31%

7. More and more, people of all skills
levels will need to upskill and reskill
7Source: OECD calculations based on CEDEFOP (2017), EU-CEDEFOP database: Employment trends, (http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/public
resources/data-visualisations/employment-trends).
OECD workers reporting the need for further training for their job
Share of total workers, by education level, 2012/2015
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Lower secondary or
less
Upper secondary Post-secondary, non-
tertiary
Tertiary –
professional degree
Tertiary – bachelor
degree
Tertiary – master /
research degree
Highly digital
environment
Less digital
environment

8. 8
WHAT IS THE OECD SKILLS
STRATEGY

9. The 2019 OECD Skills Strategy framework
13

10. Employing a whole-of-government
approach in Slovakia
Directorate for
Education and Skills
Directorate for
Employment, Labour
and Social Affairs
Directorate for Public
Governance
Centre for
Entrepreneurship, SMEs,
Regions and Cities
OECD National project team
Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Education,
Science, Research and
Sport
Ministry of Labour,
Social Affairs and Family
OECD Centre for Skills
Ministry of FinanceEconomics Department
Directorate for Science,
Technology and
Innovation 10

11. Engaging diverse stakeholders in
workshops and discussions
43
Assessment Mission
April 2019
Skills Strategy Seminar
January 2019
Recommendations Mission
June 2019

12. The OECD Skills Strategy dashboard:
Developing relevant skills
12
Priority 3: Fostering
greater participation
in adult learning
Priority 1:
Strengthening the
skills of youth

13. The OECD Skills Strategy dashboard:
Using skills effectively
Priority 4:
Strengthening the use
of skills in the
workplace
Priority 2: Reducing
skills imbalances
13

14. 14
PRIORITY 1:
Strengthening the skills of youth

15. There is room to improve the skills of youth in
Slovakia
15
PISA scores of Slovak 15-year olds in mathematics and science, 2003-2018
470
475
480
485
490
495
500
505
2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018
Score
Mathematics
460
465
470
475
480
485
490
495
500
2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018
Score
Science
Slovak Republic OECD average
OECD (2019[1]), PISA 2018 Results (Volume I): What Students Know and Can Do, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en.

16. The share of low-achievers is on the rise
16
Share of students performing below level 2 and above level 5 in science in PISA,
2006-2018
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2006 2009 2012 2015 2018
%
Below Level 2 Level 5 or above
OECD (2019[1]), PISA 2018 Results (Volume I): What Students Know and Can Do, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en.

17. Opportunity 1: Increasing enrolment in pre-primary
education, especially among vulnerable groups
17
Selected recommendations:
• Increase the number of public
kindergartens to accommodate the new
demand, while also giving private
providers the opportunity to complement
supply
• Gradually introduce a legal entitlement
for 3 and 4 year-olds to attend pre-
primary education
• Strengthen the capacities and reach of
on-the-ground work with vulnerable
families
Key findings:
• Pre-primary education set to
become mandatory for 5 year-olds
will put pressure on kindergarten
capacity
• Perceptional and financial barriers
often discourage enrolment too

18. Opportunity 2: Supporting schools and teachers in
their work with vulnerable students
18
Selected recommendations:
• Provide school teachers working with
vulnerable students easily implementable
international best practice examples of
teaching these students
• Strengthen co-operation and
communication between schools, vulnerable
students’ families and social services
• Transform the Resort Information System
into a fully-fledged Early Warning System
by redesigning it to collect data on pupil
attendance and grades
Key findings:
• Socio-economic status has a large
impact on the school performance
of Slovak students
• Roma students are particularly
exposed to the risk of dropping out
of school

19. Opportunity 3: Building a strong teaching
workforce
19
Selected recommendations:
• Facilitate the establishment of
partnerships between pedagogical
faculties and schools
• Expand the diversity of teacher
professional development
• Make mentoring activities a key
component of teacher career
advancement
Key findings:
• Initial teacher education in Slovakia
lacks a strong practical component
• Teacher professional development
could be better aligned with
teachers’ needs

20. 20
PRIORITY 2:
Reducing skills imbalances

21. The labour market in Slovakia has been
tightening
21
Source: OECD (2018), Skills for Jobs database, www.oecdskillsforjobsdatabase.org.
Recent evolution in vacancies and unemployment in the Slovak Republic
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Index (2012=100)%
Unemployment rate (left scale) Job vacancies (right scale)

22. Large number of young tertiary graduates are
overqualified
22
Sources: OECD (2018), OECD calculations based on Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015); OECD; Eurostat (2018), Adult Education
Survey 2016; Eurostat (2018), Labour Force Survey 2017 ; Eurostat (2018), Continued Vocational Education and Training Survey; OECD (2015), OECD,
ICT Access and Usage by Households and Individuals (database), http://oe.cd/hhind.
Overqualification of tertiary graduates
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
% Recent graduates (25-34 years old) Older graduates (35+ years old)

23. Opportunity 1: Improving the dissemination of
information on labour market and skills needs
23
Selected recommendations:
• Develop a comprehensive
strategy to consolidate
results from multiple SAA
exercises, and tailor
dissemination to different
users
Key findings:
• Skills assessment and anticipation
(SAA) exercises are the main tools
to generate and disseminate
information on labour market and
skills needs
• Dissemination of information from
SAA tools is fragmented and not
always tailored to the needs of
different users, according to a
CEDEFOP review

24. Opportunity 2: Strengthening the responsiveness of
students and their families to labour market needs
24
Selected recommendations:
• Introduce a one-stop-shop portal
that allows students and their
families to access information on
labour market and skills needs and
study opportunities
• Complement reforms to career
guidance in schools by
implementing clear standards for
the compensation of school
counsellors, as well as the range of
services offered
Key findings:
• Slovakia does not currently have a
one-stop-shop portal containing
both information on study/career
opportunities and labour market
needs
• System of career guidance at
primary and secondary schools will
change significantly with a recently
amended legislation

25. Opportunity 3: Strengthening the responsiveness of secondary VET and
tertiary education institutions to labour market needs
25
Selected recommendations:
• Support recent VET reforms of the
allocation of funding and study
places by making full use of the
results from SAA tools
• Consider introducing separate
governance and funding
arrangements for professionally
oriented institutions to encourage
the uptake of professional bachelor
programmes
Key findings:
• In secondary VET and tertiary education,
Slovakia has struggled to develop
effective financing and regulatory
arrangements, and strong collaboration
between education institutions and
employers
• Reforms and new initiatives have recently
been introduced in both systems (VET
and tertiary)

26. Opportunity 4: Moving from “brain drain” to “brain gain”
26
Selected recommendations:
• Identify or introduce a government
body responsible for the
implementation of a diaspora
engagement programme
• Develop a comprehensive strategy
for engagement with the diaspora
that builds on data on the skills and
motivations of Slovaks abroad.
Key findings:
• Approximately 8% of Slovaks
currently live in another
country
• Activities on the diaspora
engagement front have been
fragmented to date

27. 27
PRIORITY 3:
Fostering greater participation in adult
learning

28. Participation in adult learning is low
28
Source: OECD (2019), OECD Skills Surveys: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (database), https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/
Adult participation in formal and/or non-formal education, 2012/2015
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
%
Participation in formal education only Participation in non-formal education only
Participation in both formal and non-formal education

29. Unemployed Slovak adults participate less in
adult learning
29
Source: OECD (2019), OECD Skills Surveys: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (database), https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/
Percentage of adults (25-64) participating in formal and non-formal job-related learning
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
%
Employed Unemployed

30. Opportunity 1: Improving the governance of
adult learning
30
Selected recommendations:
• Unify existing strategies and initiatives
into one coherent lifelong learning
strategy
• Emphasise the governance, financing
and equity aspects of adult learning in
the new lifelong learning strategy
• Introduce cross-sectoral co-ordination
during the implementation and
monitoring stages of policy cycles
Key findings:
• There is a disconnection between
goals and policies of the several
adopted lifelong learning strategies
• Inter-ministerial co-ordination, and
stakeholder engagement in the
policy implementation stages could
be improved

31. Opportunity 2: Increasing the participation
among adults out of work
31
Selected recommendations:
• Direct a greater share of ALMP
spending to labour market
relevant training and
education
• Consider the use of data driven
processes and tools to increase
the capacity and efficiency of
labour offices
Key findings:
• Active labour market policies
(ALMP) spending on employment
incentives overshadows ALMP
spending on education and training
• Capacity and efficiency of labour
offices could be further improved

32. Opportunity 3: Supporting the capacity of
employees and firms to engage in adult learning
32
Selected recommendations:
• When piloting an ILA scheme,
consider the different enabling
conditions that are prerequisites
for successful implementation
• Consider differentiated tax
exemptions for SMEs
• Tax deductions should only
apply to approved training
courses
Key findings:
• Slovakia is considering to introduce
an individual learning account (ILA)
and tax allowance scheme to
incentivize adults to participate in
training
• SMEs invest significantly less in
training workers than large firms

33. 33
PRIORITY 4:
Strengthening the use of skills in the
workplace

34. High performance work practices (HPWP) drive skills
use, but in Slovakia they are relatively uncommon
35
Adoption of practices that enhance the work flexibility and autonomy of employees
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
% of workers
A. % of workers indicating to have influence on own
working time, 2015
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Change speed
or rate of work
Change methods
of work
Change order
of tasks
Apply
own ideas
B. % of workers indicating to have work and task
autonomy always or most of the time, 2015
Slovak Republic EU average
% of workers
Eurofound (2015[18]), European Company Survey 2013 (ECS), https://doi.org/10.2806/417263 ; Eurofound (2019[17]), European Working Conditions
Survey (EWCS) 2015, www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/european-working-conditions-survey

35. Opportunity 1: Creating the conditions to facilitate
the adoption of HPWP in Slovak firms
36
Selected recommendations:
• Raise employee engagement by
strengthening employee
representative structures in
Slovak firms
• Bolster the participation of
management staff in
education and training by
improving and expanding the
overall relevant training offer
Key findings:
• Slovak firms perform relatively
poorly with respect to employee
engagement
• Share of firms with professional
management is comparatively low

36. Opportunity 2: Providing incentives and support to
Slovak firms for the adoption of HPWP
37
Selected recommendations:
• Promote the benefits of skills use
and workplace innovations
through campaigns and by
introducing a centralised portal
with relevant information
• Improve the accessibility of
support programmes for SMEs by
reducing the administrative
burden.
Key findings:
• Policy makers in Slovakia give low
priority to promoting skills utilisation
in workplaces
• Lack of resources and know-how
prevents many Slovak firms from
adopting HPWP

37. Opportunity 3: Enhancing the governance of policies
and strategies that affect skills use
38
Selected recommendations:
• Improve co-operation and co-
ordination between all ministries,
government organisations and
stakeholders in the development of
policies that affect skills use and
workplace practices
• Strengthen the adoption of HPWP
in the public sector by setting
government-wide standards and
requirements
Key findings:
• Co-operation between ministries
and government organisations
on innovation, labour market and
education topics could be
improved
• To a certain extent, current
inefficiencies in the public sector
undermine the current business
environment

38. Thank you!
To discuss OECD’s work on OECD Skills Strategy projects, please contact:
andrew.bell@oecd.org, Head, OECD Skills Strategy Projects
ricardo.espinoza@oecd.oeg, Project Leader, OECD Skills Strategy Projects
To learn more about the OECD’s work on skills visit: www.oecd.org/skills/
OECD SKILLS OUTLOOK 2019
SKILLS AND DIGITALISATION
2019
39