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We consider it our job to tackle the challenges that businesses in the Podravje region encounter; we are a helping hand and a co-creator of growth and improved economic conditions.
We couldn’t fulfil our mission without the excellent connections and collaborations we’ve built with our key stakeholders, including municipalities, ministries, inspection services, other regional chambers of commerce and industry, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, foreign partner organisations, and numerous experts.
Thank you!
The project’s outputs would not be feasible without the collaboration of local stakeholders and project partners, to whom we are grateful.
In 2015, ŠGZ gathered together all essential stakeholders from the region of Podravje and Slovenia to create the Career Expo, where school-children could learn about the many employment opportunities available in the market.
Each year, the Career Expo provides information to over 1000 primary and secondary school students, through strong partnership with the Municipality of Maribor, the Regional Chamber of Crafts and Small Businesses Maribor, the University of Maribor, the Employment Service of Slovenia – Regional Office Maribor, the PRIZMA Foundation, the Youth Cultural Centre Maribor, and the web portal Mladi Maribor.
Every year since 2002, ŠGZ has organized selection of the best innovations from the Podravje region. This has the aim of encouraging enterprise and a culture of independent innovation – which the economy requires for successful development and operation in the face of domestic and international competition. Over 100 awards have been given to local innovators in the Podravje region since then; these enterprises have then gone on to compete at the national level, judged by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia in collaboration with the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sports and the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Internationalization, Foreign Investments and Technology (SPIRIT).
ŠGZ manages and coordinates the activities of SRIP – Circular Economy, a strategic research and innovation partnership founded in 2016 and also known as the Network for the Transition to a Circular Economy. SRIP has 88 Slovenian members; 57 are small enterprises and the rest are medium-sized and large enterprises. The project partners of SRIP – Circular Economy are: The National Institute of Chemistry, based in Ljubljana, and the Faculty for Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the University of Maribor. As part of its activities, SRIP collaborates closely with the Republic of Slovenia’s Government Office for Development and European Cohesion, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, and others. ŠGZ members are also involved in the project, namely: Surovina, Primat, IOS, Fonaterm, Talum, DEM, Ikema in RRA Podravje – Maribor.
ŠGZ has arranged this competition every year since 2016, in order to foster enthusiasm for business and to spotlight the best enterprises in the Podravje region. An expert jury selects the best companies from each of four categories: micro, small, medium and large businesses. Excellent exporters and reputable employers abound in the Podravje region. And employees, too, are always striving to do their best. It is our aim to recognize these and to showcase them to help motivate others.
In the process of finding the best employer in the Podravje region, an expert jury carefully selects and nominates many enterprises from the Podravje region, on the basis of numerous specific criteria. This expert jury also pays a visit to the enterprises and, based on its observations, bestows the distinguished title Best Employer of the Year.
In 2018, ŠGZ in collaboration with the Association of Employers of Slovenia and the chambers of commerce and industry of the Savinja and Šalek region, the Celje region, the Pomurje region and Dolenjska and Bela krajina region, formed the Foundation for the Improvement of Employment Opportunities VZHOD.SI.
The Prizma Foundation has been established by ŠGZ in collaboration with the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia. The foundation creates project material, seeks out funding sources and crafts proposals for human resource (HR) development projects, health and employee welfare, and employment that meets the needs of the region’s businesses.
Since 2014, ŠGZ has been organising the prominent human resources conference ‘How – From Practice to Practice’, where over 100 HR specialists from all over Slovenia gather to exchange actual examples of HR practices.
ŠGZ assists its members in actively seeking trained individuals through its association with Slovenia’s leading recruitment portal, Moje delo.
Spot Consulting assists aspiring entrepreneurs as well as small, medium, and large enterprises in their efforts to succeed in business. It informs them about tenders, assists them with application preparation, connects them with other businesses across borders, opens up new business opportunities at home and abroad, and puts them in touch with the necessary support organisations and municipalities.
Since 2012, ŠGZ has organised a conference for female entrepreneurs in the Podravje region, bringing together approximately 100 female entrepreneurs. This provides the most up-to-date information and expertise to help female entrepreneurs develop and thrive.
The municipalities in which the enterprises operate provide an essential business environment. Where there is a need for growth and development, ŠGZ organises meetings between top management and relevant municipal authorities to promote a more effective business relationship. The sessions promote greater understanding and closer collaboration between municipalities and individual businesses.
Infopika is the go-to place for ŠGZ members to get
free professional advice from external experts in the following areas: taxes
and finance, labour legislation, cross-border worker postings, tenders and documentation,
commercial legislation, workplace safety, innovations and intellectual capital,
public relations, and detective services.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Štajerska
Ulica talcev 24, 2000 Maribor