Dual System of Education and Training as a Pathway to the Labour Market

2 QUALIFIED WORKFORCE The second chapter of the scientific monograph is devoted to the current trends in the topic with an emphasis on the issue of lack of skilled workforce, from the perspective of maintaining the competitiveness of the Slovak economy. With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution with an increased degree of automation, digitization or process optimization, the question arises in a globally competitive environment with the naming of potentially significant problem areas in human resources preparation and development, and how and if they are connected with labour market needs and requirements. (in more detail e.g. Barnová - Barna, 2019). In this chapter of the scientific monograph, we focus on the skilled workforce from several perspectives.

In our opinion, the long-term effort in Slovakia is to concentrate on all relevant activities so that they lead to sustainable economic growth, supported by job creation and the improvement of working conditions.

Work, according to the Short Dictionary of the Slovak Language (2003), is: • exerting a physical or mental effort on something, physically it is the product of force and the path along which force overcomes resistance and at the same time it is a physical or mental activity as a social effect; • such an activity as a source of earnings, employment, it is also a physical or mental activity, aimed at achieving, producing something, as well as effort, strain, work; • the thing what is worked on; • the result of the work process; work and at the same time activity, running, functioning.

Work is defined by several authors (e.g. Lisý et al., 2008; Szarková et al., 2013). In summary, we can say that human workforce is a human activity in which he uses his physical and mental abilities. The workforce participates in the process of creating new products and services.

The Economic Dictionary (2019) defines workforce as the total employed or potentially employable (job-seeking) population, regardless of the age of individuals and, in economic terms, as a job offer.