The national project connected to the Trenčín self-governing region helping the people of the Nitra region impacted by the planned termination of coal mining to find new opportunities in the labor market has reached record numbers of involved retrainees. Through this successful project, the employees of the Nováky power plant are already looking for new jobs.
Towards the end of last year, the miners of Horní Nitra mined the very last tonne of brown coal in Slovakia. That very same day, the Nováky power plant ceased all production of electricity and heat from coal. Hundreds of people lost their jobs, but many of them took the chance to find new employment through retraining. The increasing number of people enrolled in the Employability Support in the Horní Nitra Region project is the work of experienced tutors who, working out of the new premises of the Business Academy in Prievidza (where they moved from their field office in Nováky), who now have more office and conference rooms available to them, which can host up to four concurrent competence balance groups, but also smaller groups or individual meetings. “We currently have 722 participants in the project, 45 of whom are the employees of the Nováky power plant. We aim to raise the number of participants in the project even further, based on the Horná Nitra Prievidza mining company's request for 180 more spots. The project is valued at 12 million euros and it will last until the end of this year,” summarized president of the Trenčín self-governing region Jaroslav Baška, pointing out that the region draws finances for this project from the Just Transformation Fund.
A million-euro budget
Within the scope of the first Employability Support in the Horní Nitra Region project, 400 people have been successfully retrained, while the budget was roughly seven million euros. The highest number of participants was in the 50+ age group, which is also true for the next stage of this project. “Welding is one of the most popular courses among the participants, with safety and health protection not far behind. There’s also great interest in gardening courses, and when it comes to the less traditional ones, we also offer a tattoo artist course, hydraulic arm operation, or hazardous waste management,” says assistant to the project manager Andrea Dubecová. Jozef Svitok, who spent 29 years working in a mine and is now participating in the project, is living proof of her words. “I was a trained electrician, but I had no use for that in the mine. Now, I’ve completed a security engineer course and passed the gas and pressure equipment exams. Everyone has an inkling as to what they’d like to do, and these courses offer the option to apply yourself further,” he said. Milan Čurný worked at the Nováky power plant for 27 years. “I was in charge of the machinery controlling the technology. Now I would like to focus on computer graphics or something similar,” he said. They had known for many years that the power plant would close down one day. “We gradually prepared for it. But there is definitely a feeling of nostalgia when you pass by the power plant. Nothing goes on there these days. It makes you feel sad. Well, we’ve got to prepare for whatever might come next,” he said.
ISSUES WITH TRANSPORT
For those incapable of finding a new job anymore, there’s the option of a compensation allowance. According to the regional president, the main issue is still the poor accessibility of public transport and a missing connection to the well-developed Považie region, as well as the modernization of the Prievidza – Chynorany – Partizánske railway route. Creating new jobs is another important matter. “The former government did not create any new ones., and I believe that the two upcoming investments in the Horná Nitra region will help stabilize the decline of working-age people,” said the regional president.
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