One of the most pressing problems with respect to unemployment in Slovakia is the mismatch between the education system and the actual needs of employers, Prime Minister Robert Fico told a press conference on Tuesday.
“It's not always the case that those who have an education also have a job automatically”, said Fico at the press conference, which was dedicated to the National Employment Strategy. The premier added that during one of the recent away-from-home sessions of the Government in Žilina, the Cabinet found out that 10,000 out of 11,500 jobless people registered at a nearby job centre were school leavers or university graduates. Fico went on to observe that every year Slovak universities generate an enormous number of political scientists, lawyers and social workers who have no chance of finding jobs in their field. “Slovakia is the most industrial country in the European Union; we need people with technical skills”, emphasised the prime minister. Also at the press conference was Labour Minister Jan Richter, who emphasised the Government's aim to reduce Slovakia's unemployment rate to the eurozone average, which is 11.5 percent as of September. Currently the jobless rate in Slovakia in October stood at 12.35 percent.
