CONCLUSIONS

CONCLUSIONS

The scientifi c monograph was focused on the current trends in the society and on the Slovak labour market with an accent placed on the growing lack of qualifi ed workforce, which specifi cally occurs in certain professions and has an impact on the whole economy. We approached the presented fi eld form the perspective of maintaining or increasing the Slovak economy’s competitiveness by means of vocational education and training taking into account the employers’ needs and requirements.

The era of the fourth industrial revolution characterized by emerging automation, digitalization or optimization of processes has brought signifi cant changes to the labour market. Certain professions are gradually disappearing and new ones are emerging. For these, specifi c skills and competencies are required and the educational systems of all countries must be prepared for the new conditions and requirement related to the global competitive environment. New, potentially signifi cant issues can occur in the fi eld of preparation and further development of human resources, to which organizations - as well as the whole society and the educational system - must respond. All stakeholders’ cooperation and coordination of their work are necessary in order to have graduates well-prepared for the permanently changing needs and the requirements of the labour market.

The fi rst chapter of the monograph was focused on the basic terminology of the dual system of education and training as a pathway of vocational training during the process of preparation for the labour market. Relevant key words from the fi eld were discussed in that part of the publication with the aim to create a terminological basis for the elaborated topic based on up-to-date knowledge presented in most recent resources. The topical issues of labour market and qualifi ed workforce were elaborated in the second chapter of the publication using up-to-date resources. The third chapter is focused on another key topic, which is vocational training and professional preparation for the labour market. The dual system of education and training from the aspect of the situation both in Slovakia and abroad formed the fourth chapter of our scientifi c monograph. We specifi cally focused on the characteristics of apprenticeship in selected EU countries and their comparison, the history of apprenticeship in the area of the Slovak Republic, as well as the legislative framework, and a description of the dual system of education and training in Slovakia with special

attention paid to its strengths and weaknesses. In the above chapter, examples of good practice were presented, too. Several multinational companies have brought their experiences with the system of dual education and training from abroad and apply them in the specifi c conditions of the Slovak Republic. The fi fth chapter of the publication contained a summary of the fi ndings and results of a scientifi c research on the dual system of education and training in Slovakia. Within that research, an investigation in a company operating in Slovakia and participating in the dual system of education and training was realized. In the fi nal part of this chapter, recommendations for practice were formulated based on the theoretical elaboration of the topic presented in the monograph and relevant information obtained in fi rms. The recommendations are formulated in a way that opens an opportunity to contribute both to increasing the quality of the dual education and training programme in the conditions of a specifi c company, but also to improving the practice of the dual system of education and training in a more global context.

The aim of the included chapters was to provide a theoretical basis in the fi eld of (qualifi ed) workforce based on available data, as well as to map the current situation both in the Slovak Republic and abroad. Alongside with that, we attempted to characterize the dual system of education and training and describe it in more details. The aim of the empirical part was to analyse the current situation in a selected organization involved in the dual system of education and training, to carry out a semi-structured interview with the person responsible for the realization of dual training in that organization, by means of analysis, to draw conclusions, and - based on the information obtained in the theoretical and empirical part of the monograph - to provide recommendations for practice for both the participating organization and the wider context of the system of dual education and training.

In the presented scientifi c monograph, for the purposes of a theoretical elaboration of the theme, traditional desk research methods were applied. For achieving the set goals available resources were reviewed and a qualitative approach in combination with analysis as another method of scientifi c work were applied in addressing both key issues – (qualifi ed) workforce and the dual system of education and training. The method of synthesis was applied for linking knowledge by means of analytic cognitive processes and, inductive-deductive reasoning was used for the purposes of generalization, as well as in the process of data evaluation based on previous fi ndings. The method

of comparison was applied to compare the authors’ presumptions with research results by other authors. In the empirical part, the authors used the method of questioning, more specifi cally a semi-structured interview.

One of the most important fi ndings of the presented monograph is that the participating organization – based on published information (ZSE, 2018) - off ers students the opportunity to gain professional experience in addition to or after study, in the form of excursions, competitions, educational projects during their high school and university studies, as well as graduate programmes. Cooperation with primary school students is realized by organizing various competitions and educational projects in which schools can participate.

In the participating company, they perceive the benefi t of the dual system of education and training in the opportunity to work with vocational school students from the fi rst grade, so they have enough time to motivate them, which they consider an important factor by which future employers can infl uence students’ interest in participating in the dual system of education and training, and their decision making regarding their future profession. For these reasons, this employer considers motivation to be important in the long run.

As we found out, the company’s costs on training students in the dual system of education and training are lower compared with hiring an experienced person who needs initial in-company training and whose working habits must be modifi ed. It is costly to change the working habits of a person who is already used to a certain system of work, conditions and requirements. In the dual system of education and training, companies can tailor apprentices’ training to their needs and requirements.

Another fi nding is the positive acceptance of legislative changes by this particular company as a future employer. Thanks to new regulations, the administrative burden was reduced and the employer positively evaluated the state’s eff orts to create a link between vocational training and the employers’ needs by providing practical training at the workplace in the dual system of education and training, but also by the fact that a representative of the employer is delegated to the fi nal examination committee. Besides that, if a vocational school has a contract with a vocational school on dual education and training, it participates in the creation of school curricula for vocational education and training.

We can conclude, that the implementation of the dual system of education and training into the system of vocational education and

training in Slovakia defi nitely brings benefi ts for all stakeholders. At the same time, it must be noted that there is still a lot to be done by the state in this sphere as employers, schools and the students/apprentices themselves must face a range of barriers and are not suffi ciently motivated to take part in the dual system of education and training. Moreover, it is necessary to increase students’ interest in vocational education as such, because the situation when a disproportionately large part of the population – regardless their abilities – attends secondary grammar schools is not acceptable.