Abstract:

Education is the core of each real progress and currently, conditioned by demanding and turbulent working environments requiring constant enhancement, deepening, adaptation and development of the employee educational attainment, also further training and education has become one of the key objectives of the modern societies.

Education of employees means consciously undertaken activities aimed at improving of employees` abilities required to perform the work at the moment or at the development of employees` potential required to perform work in the future. It can be characterized as a permanent process in which the adaptation and change of working behaviour, the level of knowledge, skills and motivation of employees take place on the grounds of learning based on using different methods. It is exactly work-related education which improves or maintains those employee`s skills that are required in his/her present employment. So finally it results in a decrease of the difference between the present competences of employees and requirements posed on them. Its key objective is to create conditions for the effective fulfilment of the company`s tasks through the purposeful and permanent formation of working potential of the employees.

The authors of the paper carried out a case study, aim of which was to assess courses offered to employees from the industrial production practice by the EATON company, which is a global leader in electrotechnical technologies ensuring distribution and energy consumption control, lighting technologies, hydraulic systems, systems and services for industrial and mobile facilities, aviation fuels, hydraulic and pneumatic systems used for industrial and military purposes, systems ensuring production rate, fuel-efficiency and safety of drive unit systems.

Collection of the necessary research data was done during the offered course realisation in years 2017 and 2018. The courses were designed as one-year training cycle. Participants of the courses were on the one hand EATON employees (EATON Slovakia business agents, sales representatives and technical assistants) and on the other hand employees of EATON business partners (i.e. companies producing technological processes in automation but which are as well at the same time EATON customers applying EATON systems into the practice). The research data to assess appropriateness, efficiency and quality of the offered courses to the given very heterogeneous target group of the employees were collected based on the administration of approach questionnaires, knowledge tests, personal interviews, and additionally also based on consultations led with selected representatives of the EATON company.

The paper will present both the main results of the case study, i.e. of the assessment of the observed employee education as well as from the achieved findings resulting proposals for enhancement its quality and efficiency.

Keywords:

Employee professional training and education, industrial production branch.