Governance

There is no single public body responsible for youth employment and entrepreneurship in Slovenia. Different ministries and government offices are involved in the implementation of policies and programmes to address this issue. The roles of different ministries can be categorised in the following manner:

• The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities is the principal body responsible for youth employment.
• The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport is the principal body responsible for entrepreneurship.
• The Employment Service of Slovenia is a key Slovenian labour market institution. It is a public, independent legal entity operating uniformly across the entire country.
• A range of ministries help fund employment programmes.

These ministries (and some others, such as Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education etc.) are also responsible for implementing the Youth Guarantee from 2021-2025 

The Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS)  performs activities related to employment, such as implementation of active employment policy programmes, implementation of career orientation, job placement,  provision of unemployment insurance and employment and insurance of foreign workers through numerous laws and rules, including the following:

• Employment and Work of Foreigners Act,
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons Act,
• school legislation (career guidance, advice and education) and
• Labour regulations (redundant workers, trainee periods, employment contracts, inspections, etc.).
  
   

Slovenia has established several key governmental bodies to support employment, youth affairs, and economic development. The Committee of the National Assembly of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and the Disabled (Odbor za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in invalide) discusses employment-related legislation, while the Council of the Government for Youth (Svet Vlade RS za mladino) serves as a consultative body for youth matters. Financial support for businesses comes from the Slovene Enterprise Fund (Slovenski podjetniški sklad), which improves access to financial resources for SMEs (micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises), and SPIRIT Slovenia, which promotes Slovenia as an investment destination. The Statistical Office (Statistični urad RS) coordinates national statistics, and the Public Scholarship Fund (Javni štipendijski, razvojni, invalidski in preživninski sklad RS) manages human resource development and educational opportunities.

Additional organizations focus on education and career development within Slovenia. The Slovenian Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Center RS za poklicno izobraževanje) handles vocational education research and development, while Career Centres for Students connect graduates with employers. Primary and secondary schools provide advisory services and career guidance to students. The Centre for Knowledge Promotion (Center za promocijo znanja), registered with the Ministry of Education, specializes in evaluating and developing new educational systems, completing Slovenia's comprehensive approach to workforce development and education.

The following are the main non-governmental actors (NGOs) in the youth sector:

• Ustvarjalnik teaches young people how to convert their skills into a source of income by providing opportunities for them to create business projects while in school.
• Institute Nefiks (Zavod Nefiks) promotes non-formal learning and the recognition of skills gained through non-formal learning activities.
• Trade Union Youth Plus (Sindikat Mladi plus) was established to protect the rights of students, pupils and unemployed youths. Trade Union operates within Free Trade Union of Slovenia which is a member of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije).

Cross-sectorial cooperation

Slovenian ministries and other bodies collaborate on joint projects and programmes aimed at promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship. This includes developing national training schemes, subsidizing first-time employment, and supporting start-up businesses founded by young people. Regular communication and policy coordination among ministries ensure that employment and entrepreneurship measures are coherent and effective. Additionally, ministries work with youth organizations, social partners and NGOs to align initiatives with the actual needs of young people. This intersectoral cooperation enables a comprehensive approach to addressing youth employment and entrepreneurship challenges, contributing to the more effective implementation of measures outlined in the National Youth Program 2013–2022 and the Youth Guarantee programme.

The National Youth Program 2013–2022 foresees cross-sectorial cooperation in the following five priority areas: (1) improving public policies to facilitate the rapid and adequate entry of young people into the labour market (focus on young graduates and late labour market entrants), (1) promoting innovation, creativity, self-initiative, entrepreneurship (including social entrepreneurship) and self-employment among young people, and reinforcing the importance of developing socially responsible entrepreneurial mindsets and skills, (3) better integration of the education system with labour market needs - a responsive and forward-looking education and training system, (4) reducing the prevalence of less favourable forms of employment among young people, (5) strengthen actions to eliminate discrimination on grounds of maternity and parenthood and to promote a better work-life balance.