Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia is a friendly chamber for its members and all others. It associates (on the basis of the Law of Craft) craftsmen and other small businesses. Everey craftsman is an entrepreneur, as in his/her activity, he/she uses a lot of entrepreneurial skills, whereby every entrepreneur is not a craftsman yet, because, to perform craft, there are exactly defined conditions! Both, entrepreneurs and craftsmen are searching for business opportunities being created for them in their environment and they take the responsibility for their enterprise and their employees!

WHAT IS CRAFT

The Law of Craft defines that a craft activity is a profit oriented activity being divided into craft activity, activity similar to craft and activity of home craft and applied arts.

An individual person can perform a craft activity for which a certain qualification condition must be fulfilled and on the basis of craft permission and registration in the craft register. The condition for gaining a craft permission is at least national vocational qualification or corresponding vocational or professional qualification, a master’s exam which is more precisely regulated in the Regulation on Craft Activities and Activities Similar to Craft.

In cases, where there are no qualification limits, an individual person can gain the right to perform a craft activity only by registering in the craft register which is done by the Chamber of Craft and Small Business according to its official duty and by issuing a corresponding decree.

The condition for performing a craft permission for home craft and applied arts is the opinion of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia according to evaluation of a special professional committee which decides if a certain product can be treated as a product of home craft and applied arts.

The right for performing an activity similar to craft can be gained by registration in the craft register at the Chamber of Craft and Small Business according to the official duty and information of the management of business register (AJPES). This way of registration is valid for small enterprises and self-employed who defined an activity similar to craft as their main activity.

The exceptions among activities, similar to craft, are catering and road transport which belong to such activities only if they are performed by self-employed.

HISTORY

Slovenian craft has a hundreds of years of tradition (already in the middle ages when crafts nearby castles, fair centres, guilds and later on also collectives, started to develop). The organisation of Chamber of Craft is over 150 years old. The present Chamber of Craft has been active almost 40 years. Craft has been fighting for its existence and development all the time. Slovenian craftsmen have numerous values diligence, knowledge, quality, honesty, innovativeness, introduction of technological novelties, market adaptability which enables preservation of craft.