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1. Youth employment measures

2. Flexicurity measures focusing on young people

3. Reconciliation of private and working life for young people

4. Funding of existing schemes/initiatives

5. Quality assurance

Youth employment measures

Slovakia has implemented a range of short-term and structural policy measures to enhance youth employment opportunities. These include:

Direct Job-Creation Schemes

• Projects Supported by the European Social Fund (ESF): Designed to create jobs for young people under 29 years old in both public and private sectors. By 2014, over 11,500 jobs were created, with an 80% retention rate after the initial supported employment period.
• Graduate Practice Programme: Offers 3–6 months of practical work experience for young graduates, increasing their employability.
• National Project 'Prax pre mladých' (Practice for Youth): Implemented from September 2022 to December 2023, this project aimed to improve employment prospects for young NEET individuals (under 29) through practical training and work experience. In 2023, 1,715 young unemployed individuals participated, with over 71% being under 24 years old.
• National Project 'Praxou k zamestnaniu 2' (From Practice to Employment 2): Running from 2019 to 2023, this project supported mentor-based job training for young job seekers, ensuring a smoother transition into the labor market.

Wage and Recruitment Subsidies

• Support for the First Job: Provides financial incentives to employers for creating jobs for young people, conditional on maintaining the position for 6–12 months.
• Subsidies for First Regularly Paid Employment: Encourages employers to hire young people who have not had a regular job for at least six months by offering financial incentives.
• National Project 'Úspešne na trhu práce' (Successfully in the Labour Market): Active from 2015 to 2022, this initiative provided wage subsidies to employers hiring young NEETs, leading to a 74.35% success rate in employment retention.

Other Employment Support Measures

• National Youth Guarantee Scheme: Ensures that individuals under 25 receive an employment, education, apprenticeship, or traineeship offer within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education.
• Requalification and Competency Courses (REPAS+ and KOMPAS+): Focuses on aligning young people's skills with labor market demands, particularly in digital and communication sectors.
• Mentored Training and Internships: Provides on-the-job training and mentorship to ease integration into the workforce.
• Entrepreneurship Support: Encourages young people to start their own businesses through financial assistance and mentoring.
• National Project 'Chyť sa svojej šance' (Seize Your Chance): Active from 2021 to 2023, this project supported young disadvantaged job seekers and NEETs through self-employment incentives and workplace integration measures.

These programs particularly target NEETs, long-term unemployed, low-skilled job seekers, and disadvantaged youth, including Roma youth.

Flexicurity measures focusing on young people

Flexicurity policies in Slovakia aim to balance labor market flexibility with employment security. While no specific measures are exclusively designed for young people, general policies include:

• Flexible Employment Schemes: Slovakia’s Labour Code allows for flexible working arrangements, including temporary contracts and part-time employment.
• Job-Oriented Re-Training and Mobility Support: Investments in re-training opportunities help young workers transition between jobs and adapt to evolving labor market needs.

Reconciliation of Private and Working Life for Young People

Top-level policies and measures to support work-life balance include:

• Flexible Work Arrangements: The Slovak Labour Code allows flexible hours, teleworking, and shared jobs.
• Family and Work-Life Balance Support: While general provisions exist, targeted policies supporting young women’s labor market retention remain limited.
• National Project 'Zosúladenie rodinného a pracovného života' (Reconciliation of Family and Work Life): Implemented from 2021 to 2022, this initiative promoted flexible work arrangements for employees with family responsibilities.

Funding of Schemes/Initiatives

Youth employment initiatives in Slovakia are funded through a mix of national and international sources:

• State Budget: The Slovak government allocates financial resources to youth employment programs.
• European Union Funding: The Youth Guarantee, ESF, and Cohesion Fund provide substantial financial support.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Collaboration with employer organizations and trade unions ensures co-funding and implementation of employment programs.

Quality Assurance

Slovakia has mechanisms to monitor youth employment programs, such as evaluating participation rates and employment outcomes through reports like the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) evaluations. However, there are gaps in systematically collecting participant feedback to ensure programs meet quality benchmarks and enhance employment retention. Although initiatives like the National Framework Program for the Implementation of the Guarantee for Young People exist, Slovakia lacks a comprehensive quality assurance system specifically for youth employment measures. The focus is more on program evaluation than on holistic feedback and quality monitoring across all initiatives.