Ljubljana, 6 September 2024 - The British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce has established a new People and Culture Council to contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and progressive workplace ecosystem in the Slovenian economy by sharing best practices and addressing challenges in the areas of human resources management, employer branding and talent acquisition and retention. The inaugural session also underlined the Council's vision to facilitate the return of Slovenians who have acquired their education and experience abroad and to create a Slovenian ecosystem in such a way that encourages the return of those living abroad.

"With the establishment of the People and Culture Council, we are expanding the Chamber's commitment to the development of the Slovenian economy and society. In addition to our efforts through the two existing councils (UK Trade Council and Investors' Council), we want to encourage businesses to develop innovative and inclusive work environments and offer them support in overcoming the related challenges. We will work actively with the Government to achieve the necessary legislative changes," remarked Barbara Uranjek, CEO of the British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, at the session.

An important part of the Council's work will be the strategic partnership with the VTIS Association in the context of their VTIS Mentoring Programme. The latter will enable young people in Slovenia and abroad to connect with the Chamber's member companies and learn about their organisation and business culture, while offering them support in finding new career paths and opening up the possibility of returning to Slovenia with attractive career opportunities.

The mentoring program is built on the vision of fostering knowledge and experience sharing between mentors and mentees, which, according to Mance Kunaver, Head of Office at the VTIS Association, is crucial for effectively linking talent with the economy: "In the past years, we have already helped more than 285 young people with the help of our mentors. As we have already worked with the Chamber in the past to attract young talent back to Slovenia, we are confident that this further cooperation will give even more young people an insight into Slovenian business culture, thus contributing to the development of talent both in individual organisations and in the wider community."

The newly elected Chair of the Council, Dimitrij Miklič, Director of the ERUDIO International School, explained his mission in the Council, underscoring joint action and systemic changes: "My goal as Chair will be to find key intersection points in cooperation with various organisations and institutions that will allow us to make concrete shifts in bureaucratic structures and ministries. At the same time, we need to create a favourable and positive working environment that will also allow Slovenians who want to return from abroad to realize their full potential."

The second elected Chair of the Council, Matic Čad, Partner at Law Firm Čad, highlighted the legal aspect of his focus in the Council: 'Our interaction at home and at work is based on relationships with people, so I am delighted that our focus in the Council will be on people management and culture. I will be complementing the content with my legal expertise to ensure that legal compliance is also in place."

The need to adapt to the rapidly changing trends in the work environment and digitalisation was highlighted by Mateja Panjan, Head of People and Culture at Danfoss Digital Services, who was appointed as the Council's Expert Facilitator: "To successfully meet the challenges of the future, companies need to develop a wide range of skills and competences of their employees. Adapting to a rapidly changing work environment and digitalisation is key to our long-term success and our readiness for the challenges of the future."

The Working Chair of the inaugural meeting was Mart D. Buh, Business Development Manager at the British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. The work of the Council is supported by strategic partners ERUDIO International School and VTIS Association. A special thank you also goes to our member the Center of Excellence of Finance who hosted the inaugural session.

Strategic Partners