MODERN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2015 MMR, vol. XX, 22 (1/2015), pp. 131-141 January-March Barbora GONTKOVIČOVÁ 1 , Emília DUĽOVÁ SPIŠÁKOVÁ 2 THE NECESSITY OF EMPLOYEE EDUCATION In terms of companies, education and training belong to the most important investments in human capital. Although, education and training of employees is a normal part of the operation of many companies, all enterprises should be aware of its importance and give it constant attention. The basis of employee education is mainly to increase the potential of human resources and human capital, which constitutes the major part of the organization and enables organizations competitiveness in the labor market and of course personal devel- opment of employees. One of the most effective approaches to learning and development of human resources in the company is introducing a comprehensive set of educational programs and training. Through the vocational education and training of employees, the company may achieve their greater loyalty to the company and its values. In addition, employees are led to greater independence and have more opportunities for self-fulfillment, especially if they are provided with knowledge and opportunities for skills development in terms of their continu- ing professional development in the company. The paper points out to the importance of vo- cational employee education and the role of lifelong learning. The aim is to analyze and compare the employee participation in the activities of lifelong learning at V4 countries. Moreover, a separate attention is paid to participation in non-formal employer-sponsored ed- ucation supported enterprises. The process of training for enterprises in areas which can con- tribute to achieving better results in terms of corporate and continual improvements in busi- ness processes through more efficient use of human potential is currently one of the im- portant activities in maintaining the quality of personnel. In general, the intensity and cover- age of employee education depend on staffing strategy and company policy. Keywords: human capital, formal education, non-formal education, trainings, employer- sponsored learning activities 1. INTRODUCTION The greatest asset of any enterprise is not financial capital, property, the amount of equipment, or the products/services the enterprise offers. Human capital is necessary to the success of any business, so the greatest asset an enterprise has is the people who work for it. Employees as an accelerator of development of intellectual capital are able to bring their skills and talents, ideas and creativity to the enterprise. Also, employees bring innovation, commitment and a desire to learn. In recent years, a number of factors have come together to focus attention on the economic role of human capital. One of the most important is the rise of the so-called knowledge economy, which relies less on manufacturing objects and more 1 Ing. Barbora Gontkovičová, PhD, University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of Business Economics with seat in Košice, Tajovského 13, 041 30 Košice, Slovakia, e-mail: barbora.gontkovicova@euke.sk (corresponding author) 2 Ing. Emília Duľová Spišáková, PhD, University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of Business Economics with seat in Košice, Tajovského 13, 041 30 Košice, Slovakia, e-mail: emilia.spisakova@euke.sk