Every year, BIC Ljubljana will give around 500 students the opportunity to acquire skills for their future profession by running a travel agency. “Initially, we will organize field trips. Our student travel professionals will learn how to plan itineraries, arrange accommodations and modes of transportation, and find a tour guide. Our travel agency will merely mentor them,” said Katja Orehek Kati, the head of the student travel agency.

The students must complete 400 hours of professional practise during their freshman and sophomore years. This will make them ready to enter the labour market. “Employers often lament that graduates don’t have employable skills. Our program allows our graduates to become competitive in the current labour market,” said Jasna Kržin Stepišnik, the director of BIC Ljubljana.

The Ministry of Education supports linking business and education, said Education Minister Maja Makovec Brenčič: “We have helped the school to expand because they’re big on integrating their services into the real economy.”

This is also important because tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in Slovenia and worldwide.

Aleksandra Trupej, TV Slovenia; translated by D. V.