Slovakia’s annual nationwide umbrella initiative where schools, employers and NGOs register decentralised career events on a central map, amplifying career guidance visibility through coordinated promotion and awards.
Objective:
The initiative aims to raise awareness about the availability and value of career guidance services in Slovakia, make them accessible to a wider public, and encourage the development of new activities in this field. It also strengthens cooperation among providers, showcases innovative practices, and positions career guidance as a key element of lifelong learning and employability. It is also an opportunity to create synergies in the promotion of career guidance (concentrated media campaign on the national and regional level) by concentrating events into a limited time (although it is not necessary a week and events are usually spread throughout a period of 3-4 weeks around the “career week”).
Target group:
- Wider public (pupils, students, jobseekers, employees in career transitions, parents)
- Career guidance practitioners (school counsellors, public employment service staff, private counsellors, NGOs)
- Employers and social partners, policy-makers and educational institutions – secondary target group (advocacy of career guidance)
Duration and frequency:
Careers Week is organised annually, usually in November–December, sometimes extending into January. Activities take place across Slovakia in multiple cities and institutions. Each event typically lasts from 1 to 3 hours, with formats ranging from workshops to career fairs, to events at schools. Also professional events for practitioners are organized. The participation ranges throughout years. It was first organized in 2017 with 46 events in 21 towns and the participation has been stable until the COVID 19. In 2023 there were 22 events across the country.
Description:
Careers Week is a nationwide umbrella initiative coordinated by ZKPRK and Euroguidance. Organisations across sectors (schools, career centres, NGOs, employers, public institutions) register their own activities on the central website www.tyzdenkariery.sk. A public map visualises all events, ensuring visibility and easy access for participants.
Examples of events:
- Career fairs and open days (e.g. University counselling centre career day in Košice, regional job fairs)
- Workshops and training (e.g. “Skills of the Future” by a counselling centre, mock job interviews in schools)
- Information days in schools and employment offices
- Community activities (e.g. “Coffee with a Career Counsellor” workshops in cafés)
- Employer engagement activities such as job shadowing or mentoring sessions
The association also awards prizes to the most inspiring events, promoting innovation and quality. For example, in 2022 awards went to a primary school for self-discovery workshops, secondary schools for career weeks, and school counselling centres for activities on future skills.
Implementation steps:
- Central coordination: ZKPRK and Euroguidance Slovakia provide branding, communication guidelines, and a practical handbook with examples of good practice.
- Call for participation: Organisations are invited to design and register their events via the online form. The information is spread through all the communication channels that are available (social networks, newsletters…). It is important to announce the date at least 2-3 months in advance in order to mobilize the maximum of participants.
- Event planning: Each participating organisation defines its target group, selects a format, and prepares activities (e.g. workshops, fairs, consultations) and publishes it on the central events.
- Promotion: All events are listed on the official website and interactive map; organisations promote locally with the shared visual identity (a logo). ZKPRK promotes the whole event as well as selected regional events on their social channels.
- Delivery: Events are implemented across Slovakia by schools, counselling centres, employers, and NGOs without the intervention of ZKPRK.
- Recognition and follow-up: ZKPRK awards prizes for best practices, collects feedback, and disseminates inspiring examples for future editions. ZKPRK also publishes a report from the event summarizing the number of events, locations and partners.
Necessary conditions:
- Material resources: Central website with registration and mapping functionality (WordPress website with Event Calendar, Community events and Maps plugin), visual identity (logos, templates), promotional materials. Locally: venues (schools, universities, cafés, employment offices), workshop equipment, printed handouts (provided by local organizers).
- Budget: Limited central funding for coordination, communication, and prizes; local events are funded by the organising institutions, partners.
- Staff: Central team (approx. 1–2 staff) for coordination and communication. Local organisers include teachers, counsellors, HR professionals, NGO workers; typical time investment is 2–3 hours per organisation (from preparation to evaluation), but the initial investment in terms of time is more important (at least 100 hours for the website, guide, visual identity, promotion of the event, finding media partners…).
- Conditions of success and lessons learned: It is useful that the central organizer (the association) becomes the leader in terms of events and mobilizes their members to concentrate their event in this week. This creates a positive dynamic that emulates other partners. It is also useful to use existing networks of public providers – this is usually done by having an engaged contact person at the level of national coordinator, who can then stimulate the participation of local offices (which was the case of the Labour Offices in Slovakia – many of which participated thanks to the encouragement of the Central Office of Labour). Providing a practical guide explaining the goal of the events and showcasing some simple, approachable activities also allows to put the bar relatively “low” so that everyone is engaged to participate, even with a small and relatively simple event (a workshop for jobseekers at the labour office, a small career event at school etc.). Providers are also encouraged to organize their regularly held activities around this period. There are several success factors: central coordination and infrastructure, but decentralised ownership, visibility and promotion, recognition and motivation to participate (through symbolic award and recognition).
Photos, videos, further resources:
National webistes: https://tyzdenkariery.sk/
Events archive: http://tyzdenkariery.sk/program/zoznam/?tribe_paged=1&tribe_event_display=past
Press release from 2017: https://rozvojkariery.sk/ako-dopadol-tyzden-celozivotneho-poradenstva-2017-viac-ako-40-aktivit-v-dvadsiatich-mestach/
Practical guide: http://tyzdenkariery.sk/wp-content/uploads/Pr%C3%ADru%C4%8Dka-TK2023.pdf
Article with the synthesis and awarded events in 2023: https://tyzdenkariery.sk/tyzden-kariery-2023-ocenili-sme-najinspirativnejsie-aktivity/
Contact person:
Tomas Sprlak, ZKPRK, info@zkprk.sk