Digital Training Demand and Labor Market Alignment in Adult Continuing Education: Evidence from Slovakia
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Rapid digitalization is reshaping occupational skill requirements and increasing the importance of flexible adult continuing education. This study examines expressed demand for digital and labor-market-oriented online training in Slovakia, identifies the skill domains represented in program choices, and compares the characteristics of packages selected by employed and unemployed participants. The analysis used 1,717 de-identified participant-program records from the Skills for the Labor Market project, collected between April 2024 and November 2025. Training packages were classified by thematic area and described using analytically constructed indicators of digital intensity, practical orientation, occupational market relevance, and labor-market alignment. Frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, Spearman rank correlations, and Mann-Whitney U tests with effect-size estimates were applied. Demand was concentrated in information technology, software development, data analytics, digital marketing, and related applied fields. Selected packages generally combined high digital intensity, practical orientation, and occupational relevance. Employed and unemployed participants showed broadly similar choice profiles. After Bonferroni adjustment, employed participants showed higher ranks for digital intensity and occupational market relevance. No statistically significant differences were found for practical orientation or labor-market alignment, and all effect sizes were very small. Age showed weak negative associations with the characteristics of selected packages. Administrative program-choice data can provide a useful supplementary indicator of adult training demand, but they do not measure skill acquisition, program quality, employer demand, or employment outcomes. Received: 13 July 2026 / Accepted: 06 October 2026 / Published: November 2026
Author: Miroslav Reiter
Institution: Bratislava University of Economics and Management
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225343381