VOLKSWAGEN SLOVAKIA
Bratislava-based carmaker Volkswagen Slovakia established cooperation with schools in the 1990s. At present they collaborate with secondary vocational schools as well as universities in technical and economic specialisations. This includes the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU), Technical University of Košice (TUKE), Žilina University, University of Economy in Bratislava and various secondary vocational and technical schools across Bratislava Region, company spokesman Vladimír Machalík told The Slovak Spectator.
Moreover, Volkswagen opened its own dual education centre in September 2013, offering the courses in the mechatronics for 24 people. In 2014 it added two more specialisations: mechanics and electrotechnics, for 12 students each.
KIA MOTORS SLOVAKIA
Žilina-based Kia Motors Slovakia cooperates with secondary vocational schools from Kysucké Nové Mesto, Martin, Čadca, Považská Bystrica, Žilina (all in Žilina Region), and Považská Bystrica (Trenčín Region), as well as universities. It offers its own education programmes that contain elements of the dual education system, like the scholarship programme and practical training, Kia spokesman Jozef Bačé told The Slovak Spectator.
Since establishing collaboration in 2005, more than 533 students have already undergone training in the plant, and 26 secondary school and 13 university students have joined the scholarship programme, he added.
U.S. STEEL KOŠICE
The biggest employer in eastern Slovakia, U.S. Steel Košice, has been cooperating with several secondary vocational schools, and TUKE, for years. It focuses on metallurgy, engineering and eletrotechnics, Martin Pitorák, vice-president for human relations in the company, told The Slovak Spectator.
The cooperation with the vocational school in Košice’s Šaca district has gone on for 50 years. It has educated many generations of experts currently working for the firm at various positions. U.S. Steel extended the cooperation to more schools in 2008, Pitorák added.
ŽELEZIARNE PODBREZOVÁ
Železiarne Podbrezová, located in Banská Bystrica Region, has more than 10-year experience with dual education. It even established its own private secondary vocational school that offers four specialisations. Students undergo practice directly in the firm, and in their last year spend every second week there. Students get bonuses for their work. In return they promise to work there for at least following three years after graduation. The only exception have those who continue at universities. If students violate the condition, they have to pay the full school fee, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote.
The company also cooperates with universities.
MATADOR GROUP
Matador Group and its branches in Slovakia also cooperate with secondary vocational schools and universities. For example, Matador Industries in Dubnica nad Váhom (Trenčín Region) collaborates with local vocational and technical schools, focusing on engineering professions. Matador Automotive Vráble joined the pilot dual education project Young Stars launched by the Austrian Embassy to Slovakia and the Slovak Education Ministry, Linda Golejová, spokeswoman for Matador Group, told The Slovak Spectator.
Regarding universities, the branches cooperate with STU, TUKE and Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. The company selects the faculties with which it collaborates deliberately, with specialisations corresponding with the direction of the plants, Golejová added.
T-SYSTEMS
Košice-based T-Systems opened its pilot dual education project by offering a three-year post-graduate education for 30 students in September 2013, with the prospect of getting jobs in the firm immediately. In addition to theoretical knowledge students were expected to get practical experiences in the area of computer systems, as well as an international certification from foreign chambers of commerce, according to T-Systems. Practical work accounts for 67 percent of the time spent in the project.
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