Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)
One of the ways to achieve it will also be the National System of Occupations (NSP) which was presented on December 1.
“The inevitable part of the labour market is quality employees with required and applicable qualifications,” Fico said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “The employers keep stressing that the possible threat for them is not taxes or labour law, but the lack of qualified people.”
The NSP contains the detailed description of skills and education requirements for more than 1,200 occupations. This means that everybody can check what qualities are needed for certain jobs in order to get them, the PM added, stressing that the NSP is an important systemic reform.
“We are interested in developing Slovakia’s industrial tradition, so we realise how important modern and qualified workers are,” Fico said, as quoted by TASR, adding it does not matter whether they work in production halls or in management.
Slovakia currently has about 1,100 standards for occupations, said Labour Minister Ján Richter, adding that they were prepared by more than 1,000 experts.
The representatives of trade unions and employers praised the NSP project.
“NSP will have a great contribution,” said Jozef Kollár, head of the Confederation of Trade Union Associations (KOZ), as quoted by TASR.
The National Union of Employers (RÚZ) considers the NSP a tool which will help Slovakia’s competitiveness in and also outside the EU. The implementation of both the NSP and National System of Qualifications should help to increase the employment of people, according to RÚZ president Miroslav Kiraľvarga.
“We have been saying since the very beginning that the problem with unemployment should be solved also with educating quality experts who are necessary in the practice,” said Tomáš Malatinský, president of the Federation of Employers’ Associations (AZZZ), as quoted by TASR, adding that NSP lays a basis for this.
