A big problem is the increasing number of unemployed who have finished school.. Most difficulties with finding a job on the labor market are encountered by those who have finished secondary school with leaving examinations; in second place are those leaving school without examinations; and in third place are those finishing school from universities and gymnasiums. It seems that there is a big mismatch between the skills received and skills needed in the labor market.
One of the possibilities for young people in finding a job is to go to the labor office, search on the internet or go to a job fair. One of the regular job fairs was held from 11 – 12 March 2010 in Bratislava. Many international companies and job agencies based in Slovakia are looking for new workers in many sectors. Most of the available jobs are in the IT sector and services, but companies are also looking for skilled workers, workers with special qualifications, health care workers, teachers, technical area workers, workers who fix and repair machines and workers for services and trade.
The unemployment rate of young people between 15 - 24 years of age in Slovakia is about 23 per cent. It was 29.9 per cent in 2003. The biggest problem is long-term unemployment. The cause for this is lack of skills and experiences. One of the options for how to combat this problem is the “school leavers practice”. Under certain conditions a person finishing school/graduate can get a job in a company [1]; the company also receives a kind of financial support from the state for creating this kind of job for a young person.
Today, Slovakia has 391 499 unemployed people, or a 12.6 per cent unemployment rate. The first signs of recovery could be that there are new international investors who are planning to start their businesses in Slovakia and create hundreds of new working places, not only in the capital city, but also in other regions. This could help Slovakia to fight the high regional unemployment.
The challenge for trade unions in this case will be to keep an eye on the quality of the new jobs. Workers deserve decent working conditions and decent life also during the crisis.
