Slovakia - The National Digital Skills Strategy of the Slovak Republic and the Action Plan 2023-2026

The National Digital Skills Strategy of the Slovak Republic and the Action Plan 2023-2026 (NSDZaAP) was adopted by Government of the Slovak Republic the in December 2022. The objectives of the NSDZaAP are based on Slovakia’s visions as defined in the National Strategy Papers, as well as strategic documents at EU level, DESI, and on-going interviews with Commission representatives within the recently established institution of the National Coordinators for Digital Education and Skills.

The main objectives defined in the NSDZaAP are:

• Strengthening the institutional background and establishing an effective coordination mechanism on digital skills within the public administration, as well as in links with the professional community, academia and the business sector.

• Creating the conditions and supporting activities to increase the number of ICT specialists, developing the digital skills of young people and educators at all levels of the learning process.

• Development of digital skills of active labour market participants, support for upskilling and reskilling, where appropriate.

• Creating conditions and promoting activities to increase the proportion of girls and women in the IT sector.

• Reducing the digital divide and minimising the negative impacts of digital exclusion.

The NSDZaAP is divided into six priority headings covering the different chapters covering key areas. The main chapters are:

• Institutional background (“Governance” model)

• ICT specialists

• Digital skills of young people and educators in education

• Digital skills of active labour market participants

• Share of girls and women in ICT

• Digital divide and digital exclusion.

The development of the Strategy has benefited from existing analyses carried out by partners and state and international institutions over the past few years. The OECD was consulted in the production of the document and provided a set of factual comments as well as the interim findings of the European Commission’s initiative on the National Coordinators for Digital Education and Skills. It was also based on the OECD’s findings on skills in Slovakia in 2019, when it prepared, in cooperation with the Slovak institutions, a project for the National Skills Strategy in the Slovak Republic.

Three priority areas of the skills development:

• Equipping the younger and older generations with the right skills needed in the future.

• Ensuring inclusion in skills development.

• Strengthening skills strategy governance.

Digital competencies at the appropriate level is a prerequisite for an individual’s applicability in an ever-changing labour market. Without the relevant knowledge of digital skills, in the near future, the possibilities for an individual to engage in particular employment, to communicate electronically will be severely limited. Therefore, active support not only from the state but also from other representatives of firms and organisations is essential in acquiring these knowledge and skills in order to build digital literacy and competences for a broad, not only professional, but also lay public.

The Action plan for the years 2023-2026 is part of the Strategy. It is a detailed plan outlining the actions and actions needed to achieve one or more objectives. For the strategy as a whole to succeed, the different activities must be adequately monitored and revised during the implementation process.