The goal of this symposium is to present initial findings of research conducted by a group of researchers from the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe which will provide the basis for a new book to be published with Peter Lang in 2021. The research presented in this book seeks to explore and compare development of skill formation systems of the post-commmunist European countries.

The symposium will discuss the institutional development of skill formation and deployment systems, policies and processes in two Visegrád Countries, Poland and Czech Republic, and Slovenia and addresses the following research questions of research:

• To what extent does the institutional development of skill formation and deployment systems in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia fit the model of embedded neoliberalism and neocorporatism?
• What are the key iterations in the institutional development of skill formation and deployment in these countries and what is the impact of these iterations for the institutional development pathways?
• What are possible trends or scenarios for the future development of institutional frameworks of skill formation and development?

Skill formation systems are dynamic and following Thelen (2004), we are taking a historical institutional perspective exploring the emergence, development and adaptation of skill formation institutions. This perspective takes into consideration the institutional change of skill formation and deployment determined by key critical junctures, such as the collapse of the former socialist systems of skill formation and their subsequent reforms, the access to the EU in 2004 and later years as well as the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 and its aftermath.

In the literature on political economy of skill formation the institutional model of skill formation and deployment in Visegrád countries and Slovenia is described as embedded neoliberalism and neo-corporatism with such features as: 1) inheritance of industrial economies and their successful sustaining during the post-socialist transition, 2) strong orientation of enterprises to strategic human resource development and involvement of education and training in this process, 3) implementation of developmental national economic policies and practices in strategic sectors of economy by enabling formation of the effective sectoral networks between producers, suppliers and education and training providers, 4) orientation to collective skill formation in the policies of education and training (Kureková 2012, Kogan, Gebel, and Noelke 2012). The papers of this symposium will provide a more detailed and comprehensive look at these particular features and iterations of the institutional development of skill formation and deployment institutions, policies and practices by paying specific attention to the impact of institutional change on educational processes and their outcomes. Three papers will be presented and discussed: “Trajectories of Skills policies in Poland in 1989 – 2019. Analysis of Developments within the General, Vocational, Higher and Adult Education Sectors”, “Vocational Education in the Czech Republic: Between Macro and Micro perspective”, and „Institutional Challenges of Skill Formation and Deployment in Slovenia: Professional Relevance of VET and HE“.

The topics covered include the analysis of the trajectories of skills policies in the different educational sectors, in depth analysis of the changing role and meaning of vocational education and training and the in-depth exploration of the implications of the neoliberal turn for the relevance of vocational and higher education. Applied research methods include comparative policy analysis, critical contents analysis of policy documents, analysis of statistical data and meta-analysis of existing research data.

Kogan, I., Gebel, M., Noelke, C. (2012). ‘Educational Systems and Inequalities in Educational Attainment in Central and Eastern European Countries’, Studies of Transition States and Societies, 4, 69-83. Kureková, L. (2012). ‘Success against All Odds?: Determinants of Sectoral Rise and Decline in Central Europe’, East European Politics and Societies, 26(3), 643–664. Thelen, K. (2004). How institutions evolve: the political economy of skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.