Step by step towards new hard skills and soft skills

We have once again opened the new 2026/2027 school year in cooperation with the United School in Banská Bystrica. After the summer break, inmates entered the classrooms – third-year students of the painting apprenticeship program and first-year students of the carpentry apprenticeship program.

Each with their own expectations, goals, and also a bit of curiosity, uncertainty, and fear, because several years have passed since finishing primary school, and the idea of learning again, doing homework, or taking tests can raise concerns about whether they will handle it all. The very first days showed the carpentry apprentices that one can start at any age and that concerns are a natural part of every new beginning.

Educational activities at the Institute for Execution of Prison Sentences in Banská Bystrica-Kráľová do not end with formal education. In the next quarter, we are offering inmates opportunities to acquire or develop hard skills and soft skills through educational courses in cooperation with Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, focusing, among other things, on the acquisition of computer, green, and language skills, as well as a welding retraining course in which the certified educational company Lestom s. r. o. will participate. Through modular courses, we also focus on the development of elementary communication and numerical literacy.

Education is a path that is not always easy, but every step forward can bring new opportunities, greater confidence, and the courage to change one's life. It is never too late to start learning, growing, and heading in a new direction.