After gaining its independence, the government of Slovakia created a new educational system incorporating career and technical education (CTE). The purpose of this study was to examine the Slovakian system of CTE within the nation's educational system and how the political, cultural, and economic conditions existing in Slovakia influence the country's CTE system. This study was an analysis of the organization of the CTE system in the Slovak Republic. CTE in Slovakia is dynamic and is undergoing changes because of the transition of a former Soviet satellite state to a democratic free-market economy. This political and economic shift over the past 15 years, coupled with changes in the global economy, the closing of inefficient industrial plants subsidized by the former communist system, and the emergence of the service sector, have changed the environment in which Slovak career and technical institutes exist. These economic conditions, combined with the need for continuing education and life-long learning experiences for experienced workers, have implications for the changes faced by United States and European industrial educators.