By: Domen Mezeg / Nova24tv
“After the morning work conference of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in the Municipality of Gorenjska vas – Poljane, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, and the Ministers of the current government, continue the visit to the Upper Carniola region (Gorenjska in Slovenian) with separate programmes,” reads the article on the government’s recent visit to the Upper Carniola region.
At the visit to the Upper Carniola region, Prime Minister Janez Janša visited the Inter-Entrepreneurial Education Center, which is part of the School Center Škofja Loka, where he visited workshops with the students, and also met with the School Center’s management and principals of the Secondary Vocational and Technical School of Mechanical Engineering, Secondary School of Wood Engineering, and the Higher Vocational College. School Center Škofja Loka works with over 700 entrepreneurs and companies in the region, and 20 percent of the curriculum is open, which helps the School Center offer its students the knowledge they will need for employment. As many as half of the apprentices in Slovenia attend the school in Škofja Loka.
The students mainly showed the Prime Minister some practical work on individual work machines and in a car repair shop, as well as the projects they are working on in cooperation with various companies in the region.
“The students solve real industrial problems at school, as well as make products from wood and other materials. The school puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that the products that students make are useful and practical.” After observing the practical work of the students, Prime Minister Janša met with the management team of the School Center Škofja Loka and the principals of the Secondary Vocational and Technical School of Mechanical Engineering, Secondary School of Wood Engineering, and the Higher Vocational College. Their discussion highlighted the operation of the School Center and also addressed some issues related to student health insurance and certain staffing problems observed by the school’s management in the profession.
School Center Škofja Loka is also a recipient of the so-called Apples of Quality (“jabolko kakovosti” in Slovenian), awarded by the Centre of the Republic of Slovenia for Mobility and European Educational and Training Programmes, which is awarded for the best Erasmus+ projects in the field of higher education. School Center Škofja Loka received it for its project called “Training abroad is enriching” (“Usposabljanje v tujini bogati” in Slovenian).
“Namely, the school offers diverse international exchange options both for their students, who are involved in the educational processes abroad, as well as for foreign students, who come to Škofja Loka to be educated here.” Minister of Education, Simona Kustec, also visited Škofja Loka as part of the government’s work visit to the Upper Carniola region – namely, she visited the Jela Janežič Primary School, where she met with the headmistress, Marjeta Šmid, and the mayor of Škofja Loka, Tine Radinja.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Administration, Boštjan Koritnik, attended a meeting with the heads of administrative units, which proved to be an excellent opportunity for the heads to inform the ministry about the challenges on the ground. This time, the Minister met with the heads of the Upper Carniola administrative units. Koritnik said the following about his meeting: “During our visit to the company Iskratel, we agreed that digitalisation enables us to find new opportunities, with which we can make the best use of Slovenia’s social and economic potentials. The development of a powerful infrastructure network is therefore in the interest of the public and the private sector.”
Minister for Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, paid a visit to the company Optiweb, where he talked to the CEO of the company, Miha Lavtar. The company specialises in web design, website and e-commerce development, digital marketing, graphic design and video production. Andrijanič: “I am very glad to see your innovation and team spirit. With your solutions, you help many large and small companies reach customers throughout Slovenia – and beyond. Congratulations to the entire tea on their outstanding growth – I wish you lots of success in the future as well.” Optiweb is one of the leading providers of digital marketing in Slovenia.
Minister of Finance, Andrej Šircelj, visited Kranj, where he attended a joint meeting with the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, the Public Payments Administration, and the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services. There, he learned more about the three institutions’ work. They also discussed the benefits of digitalisation and the importance of education in the work process.
And after the government’s morning meeting, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Jože Podgoršek, visited the Pr’Leskovec farm. The Pr’Leskovec farm is a hill farm located in Stara Oselica on the edge of the Škofja Loka hills.
Meanwhile, Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Andrej Vizjak, visited the company Knauf Insulation in Škofja Loka. The employees presented to the Minister their vision of sustainable construction and promotion of green infrastructure.
Minister of Defence, Matej Tonin, visited the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Škofja Loka, the Municipality and the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Žiri, the company Alpina, as well as held a Public Tribune with mayors, businessmen, and other stakeholders from the region.
Meanwhile, Minister of Infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec, visited the company Ngen, energetic solutions, Ltd., and also met with the mayor of the municipalities of Škofja Loka and Železniki, and visited the Elektro Gorenjska, d.d. company.
After all the work visits followed a meeting of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia with mayors, businessmen, and other development stakeholders of the region. Together with the politician Jelka Godec, Janša attended a working lunch with representatives from the Ministry of Health and mayors of the Municipality of Kranj, the Municipality of Radovljica, and the Municipality of Jesenice, as well as the director of the Jesenice General Hospital. The main topic of discussion was the project of the regional hospital for the Upper Carniola region.