Inspiration from Slovakia: The Paths of the Future Project

Author: Miloš Šiška, Consultant at Euroguidance Slovakia (Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation)

The Paths of the Future project helps elementary school children discover what they could become. The aim of the project is to develop self-awareness and 21st-century skills among elementary school students.

During the 2023/2024 school year, students completed an informal career education program over eight months. It helped them to identify their strengths and weaknesses, find out what they are good at, and clarify their academic or professional future. The program ended with a peer learning activity, where actively involved children passed on their experiences to their classmates from lower grades. Participation in the program was voluntary.

The program also had large events for children throughout the duration of the program. Two of these events brought professionals to the children, who introduced them to their profession. The children learned about the path towards each profession, the positive and less positive aspects it brings, previous experience they had to gain to get to their current profession and what obstacles they had to overcome. Children were presented with less common professions that we usually do not know. They became familiar with these professions: e.g.  a member of the prison and judicial guard corps staff, a local mayor, a lecturer and a translator of the Roma language, an employee of the government plenipotentiary’s office for Roma communities, or ‘Omama’ (a person - mom - from a marginalised community who teaches other moms how to properly develop their children from birth). An important aspect of the presentation is that children learn about professions that people do in a given region and at the same time work in small groups on various tasks or games prepared by invited guests.

Why is this program important? 

• It is implemented in a small village school in eastern Slovakia, not in a big city where children have more opportunities. The author of the project wanted to support the potential of small village schools and show what opportunities are there. 
• The program focuses on all children of the second stage, not just children from marginalised communities. 
• The program builds on what works: it uses the proven methodology of the non-governmental organisation People in Need. It works on regular activities that take place every two weeks. People from the school are involved in the project: the principal and the educational counsellor. 
• It presents professions that are in a given region, which are not much talked about and they learn about both the positives and the more challenging aspects of these professions.

What can you take as inspiration? 

•  Don’t reinvent the wheel. Connect with someone who already has some experience. Use what is proven, look for what works elsewhere and adapt it to your context. 
• Develop things also in an environment where there are fewer opportunities (outside the city, in the regions). 
• Involve everyone: the majority, as well as people from excluded communities. 
• Pay attention to professions that are less known and much is not known about them. 
• Pay attention to the fact that the path to various professions is long and winding and not straightforward. 
• Involve people who are closest to your target group and without whose support it will not work. 
• Find support for yourself. if you need to start a project, for example, don’t be afraid to find a mentor for project management from the business environment.

Name photographer: Patrícia Hatiarová