In October 2000, as part of the 1999 Phare programme, the Employment Service of Slovenia began implementing a Twinning Project entitled Support for Strengthening of Labour Market Organisations. The project will last 14 months, i.e. until December 2001.

The principal EU partner for the Twinning Project is the United Kingdom, with Sweden and Ireland taking part in project implementation.

The purposes of this fairly extensive and complex project are to analyse the strategy of the Employment Service of Slovenia, to introduce improvements to the operations of this public institution, to improve the capacity of the institution to adapt itself to the situation on the labour market, and to transfer regulations, experience and good practice from EU member states.

The project consists of four main components. The second component, which relates to state aid in the area of employment, falls within the competence of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs. The other three components, within which seven working groups have been active, fall within the competence of the Employment Service.

Activities taking place within the first, third and fourth components are being supervised by the Steering Committee headed by Mr. Jože Glazer, Director General of the Employment Service and Slovenian project leader. The Steering Committee comprises the management of the Employment Service, the chairman of the Administrative Council of the Employment Service, and the director of one of the Service’s regional offices. The task of the Steering Committee is to watch over the content of the project, to ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with the Twinning Covenant and, at the same time, to comply with the goals and activities of the Employment Service.