Definition of target groups 

Support measures in adult education focus mostly on 

• the long-term unemployed, 
• foreigners,
• socially excluded communities, 
• people with special educational needs,
• various vulnerable target groups (senior citizens, people at risk of or subject to gender-based or domestic violence, ...)

The target groups are defined based mainly on the documents approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic such as:  

1. National programme for active aging for 2014-2020 (SK)-  for the target group of older adults 
2. National employment strategy (SK, pdf) – with respect to preserving and creating jobs with higher added value.
3. Integration policy of the Slovak Republic (SK) – in the area of  integration of foreigners
4. National action plan for the prevention and elimination of violence against women for 2014-2019 (SK) etc.

The part dealing with education and further education is usually the key part of these documents.

Immigrants and foreign nationals comprise a specific group. In their case, measures in education focus particularly on national language learning. 

Specific support measures 

Slovak language teaching

Teaching of Slovak as a foreign language to foreigners is not provided systematically. There are several possibilities how to engage in teaching Slovak language. The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic runs a project entitled Slovak as a foreign language (hereinafter only SasFL) in compliance with The Concept of Slovak Republic State Policy Concerning Slovak Citizens Living Abroad up to 2015 (SK).

Studia Academica Slovaca – centre for Slovak as a foreign language (SAS) (SK) is a specialised workplace of the Faculty of Philosophy at Comenius University (FFUK) in Bratislava. 

Centre’s objectives include:

• Education of foreigners interested in Slovak language and culture, 
• Promotion of Slovak science, culture and arts abroad, 
• Coordination and performance of the research of Slovak as a foreign language, 
• Work on international and domestic science-research projects 

Editorial activity focusing on creation and publishing of scientific slovakist publications and student’s books of Slovak as a foreign language. 

In addition, as an expert centre for Slovak as a foreign language, SAS participates in professional and methodical training of Slovak as a foreign language teachers working at foreign universities. The cooperation between language departments and foreign slovakists resulted in the creation of slovakistic database abroad. 

The unemployed and other defined target groups.

Requalification is an active labour market policy tool and it enables people to acquire qualification for a new position or to keep their current work position.

Registered job applicants have a possibility of requalification in the form of further education funded from public sources. In order to be provided financial support, the education applied for must be assessed with regard to the applicant’s career development.

Offices of Labour also provide support to employers who pay for their employees’ requalification education or create a job for a long-term unemployed person.

Education of narrowly defined target groups in areas considered key at the present is arranged according to the needs of society. Some examples include educational activities of the Coordination methodical centre for gender-based and domestic violence or support of education in financial literacy for older adults and senior citizens at the universities of the third age.