Dual Education
Dual education is a system of vocational training and training for the pursuit of a profession, in which the knowledge, skills and competences for a specific profession is acquired. Typical feature of dual education is the close relation between general and vocational education at a particular secondary vocational school and practical training provided by a specific employer.
Practical training
On 16th May 2019, a work meeting of representatives of the largest forestry companies took place in Banská Bystrica on the premises of the Directorate General of the state enterprise FORESTS of the Slovak Republic. Mgr. Milan Kuzma, the main coordinator of the national project Dual Education, representatives of the Slovak Forestry Chamber, representatives of Forests of SR, SOE, representatives of secondary vocational schools and representatives of MFE SR Ing. Ján Jurica and Ing. Michal Dudák participated in the meeting. The participants were informed about the amendment to Act no. 61/2015 Coll. on vocational training and they discussed the main issues of dual education in forestry.
MFE SR, SOE, branch office Kežmarok established contacts with the Secondary Vocational School Jarmočná 8 in Stará Ľubovňa, the Lomnička branch office, which offers two-years study programme in the forest production department. Based on consultations with the Regional Coordinator for the Prešov Region, Ing. Andrea Ondová, and a representative of the secondary vocational school Mgr. Miroslav Knap, MFE SR, submitted an application to SPPK to verify the ability to provide training in the system of dual education. On 25th July 2019, the competence was verified by the representatives of SPPK and on 6th August 2019, a certificate of competence to provide practical training for a period of seven years was issued. In September, a contract on dual education was signed between SOŠ Jarmočná 8 and MFE SR, SOE.
In the first year, the school year of 2019/2020, 7 learners applied for the study programme of forest production at the allocated workplace in Lomnička. The parents were introduced to the dual education system, and the employment contract was signed between the learners (legal representatives) and MFE SR, SOE. In the first year of the forest production curriculum, there are 384 hours of practical training in the workshop and 408 hours in the field. The curriculum is divided into thematic areas: introduction, wood and metal processing with hand and mechanized tools, forest seed production, hunting work, work in forest nurseries and work with forestry equipment. Each topic will be assessed by a mark. In the dual education system, each learner is evaluated for their work performance on the basis of a signed contract between the employer and the employee.
The school year 2019/2020 and the related dual education ended earlier due to Corona virus pandemics. Learners finished the school year successfully. The hygienist responsible for the students of the Secondary Vocational School Jarmočná Stará Ľubovňa did not recommend, despite the fact that practical training is carried out in the field, to continue the training. In the school year 2020/2021, 10 new learners applied for the study programme and 7 continue their second year of study.
Practical training takes place on land managed by the Military Forests and Estates under the leadership of the vocational teacher of the Secondary Vocational School and the head of the relevant forest district. Learners acquire practical skills in the field during routine work in forestry. They participated in activities in forestation, in protection of young forest stands, maintenance of forest roads and weighbridges. When the weather outside was bad, they prepared material for the production of game feeders and hunting equipment. For this, they use a saw to cut logs at the premises of the allocated workplace in Lomnička.
Caring for our future. The principal activity of Military Forests and Estates of the Slovak Republic, SOE, is the wildlife and forest management.
Military Forests
and Estates of the SR, SOE
The company was established to saturate the needs for the efficient and ecological forest and agricultural land management on the military training areas in Slovakia. The state owned enterprise consists of Directorate General and three branch offices in Malacky, Kežmarok and Kamenica nad Cirochou.
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