Any further development of the automobile industry in Slovakia is halted by the nonexistent highway connection between the western and eastern regions, as well as a shortage of skilled workers, representatives of the Automobile Industry Association (ZAP) concluded after talks with sub-suppliers in the Košice and Prešov regions.
According to the association’s chair Jaroslav Holeček, there is room for even a fourth automobile manufacturer in Slovakia. “I believe that over the course of the past decade, due to meaningless and trivial quarrelling between politicians, in terms of lost investments we wasted a sum bigger than all those millions that are at the forefront of decisions on whether or not the expressway would be profitable. Simply put, it should have been built a long time ago”, he said, adding that 75 percent out of the 300 sub-suppliers for the automobile industry are based only in Western Slovakia.
Another problem standing in the way of the industry’s development is the education system. Holeček finds it paradoxical that although the unemployment rate is relatively high, companies face a lack of qualified workers. "Our prognosis shows an annual need for 42,000 new employees with high school education; 30,000 of whom would serve only to replace retiring workers. On the other hand, according to statistics, fewer than 5,000 high school graduates land jobs in their respective fields of study”, he added. Carmakers would like to see elements of a dual education system introduced, in which students would acquire most of their practical skills at companies involved in the industry. A Centre for Strategic Research and Development, which would be specialised in the automobile industry and which would serve a number of companies is planned, as the automobile industry represents a driving force behind Slovakia's economy, with a 43 percent share in total industrial production of the country. It also forms 26 percent of Slovak exports and provides direct employment to 60,000 people.
