AmCham Slovakia

Education and the labor market

Slovak society must put the young generation as an absolute priority

(by Patrik Tomeš)

In recent years, Europe has been facing the challenge of high unemployment with all the inherent consequences that this brings. This is made worse by the fact that the continent is specifically confronted by the alarming phenomenon of rising youth unemployment.

Expat 2.0 – New generation of expats from the East

(by Patrik Tomeš)

They are flexible, boast a very good educational background and have experience from dynamically developing companies. Managers from Central and Eastern Europe are taking more and more jobs abroad.

Slovakia on course with Blue Cards

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Slovakia is among the countries whose requirements for granting the Blue Card are at the European average. This finding comes as a result of the “Comparative Immigration Study 2013 – 2014” prepared by Deloitte Legal on the main trends and differences in the employment of highly-qualified foreigners. Slovakia participated in the survey for the first time.

Flexible employment – opportunity or risk?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Flexible forms of employment are a significant tool in supporting and obtaining investments in high value-added industries. Although it may seem at first sight that this topic is primarily initiated by employers aiming for higher competitiveness, the demand for flexible forms of employment also comes from employees. 

Amendment to Slovakia´s personal data protection act – a step forward

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Slovakia is encountering another major change in the regulation of personal data processing. This time, however, it is welcomed by persons involved in personal data processing.

No trade union in your company?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Do you employ more than twenty employees, but there’s no trade union operating within your company? You could be in for a surprise.  New legislation makes it possible that a collective agreement could be extended to your company.

Local governments need educational upgrades

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The competencies of local government are growing more complex, due to many responsibilities now being transferred from the state on top of their original competencies. As a consequence, the public sphere has become as equally demanding regarding professional skills as the private sphere. Local government teams need to become highly specialized as well as continuously grow in their professional skills and expertise.

Our fruit begins to mature

(by Patrik Tomeš)

In Slovakia, we currently face a high demand for specialists in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). According to the forecasts of the IT Association of Slovakia and the Košice IT Valley cluster, the number of ICT jobs in the eastern region of Slovakia may increase to 10,000 in the next six years. 

Technology: transforming the face of education

(by Patrik Tomeš)

From the rapid proliferation of massive open online courses, to the widespread use of mobile devices that support a variety of “blended learning” models , technology is creating new challenges and many new opportunities for educational institutions of all types, from early education to universities.

Companies will fight for the best people

(by Patrik Tomeš)

As a part of AmCham’s HR Week, which culminated in two conferences focused on leading trends in HR (in Bratislava and in Košice), we spoke to Luboš Sirota, President of the Alliance of Personnel Agencies of Slovakia and the Chairman of the Board & CEO at McROY Group.  

A rendez-vous in operatic heaven

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The Kapos agency promotes the biggest operatic voices, and bring the international stars of the opera to Slovakia. How successfully they do this was shown by their recent visit to the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Performance errors erode company success

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Taking the quick way out to solve company problems is often more expensive in the end.  We end up treating symptoms by traditional approaches such as more training that do not result in improved performance.  These types of “organization health” errors are common and must be avoided.

Future pathways to CFOs

(by Patrik Tomeš)

How will the finance function fare in the face of significant disruptive future changes in our business and personal lives? Nearly 750 CFOs from across the world were surveyed by ACCA and IMA (June 2013) for the Future Pathways to Financial Leadership report.  

Educating for the future?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

We live in a time where the ever accelerating pace of change is quite unprecedented in our human history. Yet we maintain our school systems all around the world that are more fit for the models of employment and social organization that prevailed in the previous century. The intention of this article is for us to pause to consider how well we educate for the present and a future that is so different from what has been before?

Shaiking up the education system

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The transformation of the traditional school system to one consisting of modern and open schools, and childrens’ love for learning as well as their preparedness for the real needs of the labor market, were only some of the topics of the “School for the 21st Century” conference, which took place in Bratislava on May 16. 

The new path from education to employment

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The technology sector is desperately seeking the next generation of skilled employees and business leaders. Microsoft, EMC, Adobe, Amazon Web Services and other major employers have joined the global leader in higher education, Apollo Education Group, to connect tech career seekers with employers’ needs.