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2024 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

9. Social Entrepreneurship and Refugee’s Employment: The Case of Slovenia

Authors : Ksenija Perković, Blaž Lenarčič, Maja Zadel

Published in: Social Entrepreneurship and Migrants' Inclusion

Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

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Abstract

The chapter aims to present the broader socio-economic environment in Slovenia, focusing on the legal, systemic, practical, cultural, and economic barriers and drivers to refugee integration through social entrepreneurship. In order to provide a detailed insight into the broader national socio-economic context of the migration field, the migration context in Slovenia is first presented (e.g., demographic characteristics of migrants, asylum seekers and legislation), followed by the data related to the business and (social) entrepreneurship (e.g., employment rate, active companies, legislation). Based on the existing literature, the available statistical data, and the review of legislation, a qualitative part of the study was then conducted, focusing on best practices in the national environment in the form of enterprises/initiatives. During the interviews with the representatives of the enterprises/initiatives, the main gaps in this area and suggestions for their solutions were also identified and presented. The integration of refugees into the labour market remains a challenge in Slovenia. We present possible solutions and recommendations to improve the identified gaps based on the study’s results. Despite the challenges listed, best practices identified in Slovenia show that social entrepreneurship can be an opportunity for integration, especially for vulnerable groups, including refugees and asylum seekers.

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previous chapter Augusto Boal in the Asylum Home: Theatre of the Oppressed for Social Entrepreneurship

next chapter Social Entrepreneurship and Migrants’ Inclusion in Albania

This is also reflected in the Slovenian legislation, Social Entrepreneurship Act (ZSocP) 2011 (2018), Article 23.

Accordingly, since their aim is to serve the community in which they are located, social economy entities are very much connected to their local environment (European Commission, 2021). The impact of their work and actions also leads to the reinvigoration of their local areas, including the retention of population, the provision of local products and (social) services, the shortening of the supply (and consumption) chain and the retention of local revenues (European Commission, 2021).

In the third aspect, authors’ emphasise is the environmental aspect.

However, there are many organisation types in Slovenia that correspond to the EU operational definition; the number of de facto social enterprises thus exceeds the number of ex lexe (Rakar & Kolarič, 2019).

Already at the general level, the employment rate was the lowest in 2013 (63.27%) and 2014 (63.9%)—as compared to 66.2% in 2010 and from 2015 when it was gradually increasing up to 71.88% in 2019. In 2020, it was just slightly lower (70.85%), undoubtedly linked also to the consequences of Covid-19 restrictions (OECD, 2022). The Slovenian economy has been fairly hurt by the European economic crisis, which occurred in the late 2000s. This is visible also in GDP data: from the year 2000, GDP was rising until 2008 (29.595$), but after that it is declines and only in 2013 surpasses the amount of 2008 (29.931$). Since 2013 began rising again, but due to the Covid-19 crisis gradually decreases in 2020. In 2021 it was 43.767$ (OECD, 2022).

Foreign citizens could get employment based on the work permission issued (personal work permit, work permit and permit for employment, seasonal work, etc.).

In the beginning of the decade, 2010–2012, for example, there were around 300 asylum application per year, but the number rose to 1300 and 1400 in 2016 and 2017, and to almost 3000 in 2018, and then to more than 3.500 in 2019 and 2020. This is reflected also in the number of recognised asylum decisions, that was steady between 15 and 20 recognised asylum decisions in years 2010 to 2013, 28 in 2014, but rose to 136 in 2016 and 141 in 2017. After that, it was below 100 a year, but substantially higher that in the beginning of the decade. The countries of origin of asylum applicants have also shifted in the last decade; however, Afghanistan is among the top three countries almost all years. In the first half of the decade, Serbia and Kosovo are present every year among the top three countries, from 2012 there is also Syrian Arab Republic, gaining presence until 2016. Since 2017 there are noticeable numbers also from applicants from Algeria and Pakistan, in the last two years also from Morocco (see UNHCR Refugee Data Finder and Migration Directorate, Ministry of the Interior, 2021).

We use the umbrella term of “migrant” to indicate a person who moves from one place to another, and more specifically, from another state to Slovenia. Economic migrant and economic migration, although sometimes hard to distinguish from forced migration, is understood as a person coming from other countries for work-related purposes. Refugees, on the other hand, are people who applied for asylum and were granted international protection. Refugees “cannot return to their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution” and represent an especially vulnerable and protected group (see UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/asylum-and-migration.html).

The long duration resulted in taking only the main points and not recording the sessions.

Article 102 of Act Amending the International Protection Act (2021) and Article 6(2) of Self-Employment and Work of Aliens Act, and subsequent amendments.

There are, of course, specific fields and job position that do require the knowledge of Slovenian language, for example, teachers and educational workers, doctors, dentists, and so on.

The Council for Social Economy, headed by the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, ensures the coordination of policies in the field of social economy with ministries, government departments, municipalities, social partners and civil society organizations. Among the council’s key tasks is the preparation of the ten-year Social Economy Development Strategy for the period 2022–2032.

The social economy and social enterprises in Slovenia are defined by the Social Entrepreneurship Act, whereby the status of a social enterprise is a sub-form that can be obtained by an individual private legal organizational entity. The registration of the basic form depends on the individual field law, for example, acts on societies, cooperatives, commercial companies, and so on, while the social economy is not defined as a status or sub-form, but is defined as a way of performing activities.

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Title: Social Entrepreneurship and Refugee’s Employment: The Case of Slovenia
Authors: Ksenija Perković
Blaž Lenarčič
Maja Zadel
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland
Book: Social Entrepreneurship and Migrants' Inclusion
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-55790-3

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-55791-0

Copyright Year: 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55791-0_9