Heves County Chamber of Commerce and Industry
HEVES COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (HCCI)
Short introduction of Heves County Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI)
(Heves Megyei Kereskedelmi és Iparkamara, HKIK)
The HKIK is situated in North-Hungary, in Heves County. The county seat is Eger, it is 120 kms far from the capital, Budapest. The HKIK’s most important objective is to promote the development and the organization of the economy, to facilitate the general and common representation of the business units’ interests.
The structure of the chamber consists of 3 sections (Industrial, Commercial, Handicraft). The present number of volunteer members are about 800, which companies represent the economy of the county. The form of the chamber is public body, operating on the basis of the self-government principle.
The specific duties of the Chamber include the development of business activity and commerce, the collection of information related to the economy, providing information, the elaboration of ethical rules for market attitude. The Heves County CCI is a chamber of commerce and industry, so one of our main tasks is the support of the businesses, entrepreneurs of Heves County, especially our member companies. It means the HCCI has got very relevant experiences in all the fields of business support.
The chamber has 25 employees, and a Presidentship with 13 members. The Secretary General of the chamber is Mr. Sandor File.
The department of vocational training and education has 9 members: the head of the department, 6 consultants and 2 administrators. Vocational trainings, master courses and the related administrative tasks are of high importance. The Chamber has efficient cooperation with all vocational schools and companies active in vocational training and educational centers in Heves County. To introduce continuously the modern communication technologies and to encourage their application by SMEs, we are organizing e-learning course for them.
In the field of vocational education the chamber has regulatory function through its Development and Training Committee. The tasks of the chamber declared by the operative vocational training law are the supervision of the vocational training, the defining the profession and examination requirements of more the 100 professionals; and determining role in evolving the enrollment admissions of the regions (in vocational education). The chamber has got the authority to delegate examination committee chairmen to the professional exams. To inspect the professional progression the HCCI organizes mid-term exams for the students. We have got really relevant career guidance activity to satisfy the labor market needs.
HKIK has especially good experiences in national and international projects. We have an efficient Counsellor and Project Office with 2 employees: the head of the department and a project coordinator. We have international projects and cross-border cooperation programmes more than ten years ago, for example: LLP LdV Mobility programs (three or four VETPRO study tours / year in different topics like wood industry, building industry, handicrafts, active tourism, bioenergetics, automotive industry, etc.); LLP LdV ToI and Partnership programs with partners of Ireland, Spain, Austria, Northern-Ireland, Germany, etc.; Hungary-Slovakia Cross-Border Cooperation programs in several fields, such as „Fair Trade – Fair Service” Trademark, curriculum development in „Renewable” Vocational Education, Calling home professionals from abroad – „Work @ Home!” program; and we have IVF Standard Grants projects also, such as: Handicrafts Summer Camp for higher grades students; etc.
One of our main objectives in business support is to help the companies and entrepreneurs to find domestic or foreign partners, subcontractors, traders, etc. which they need, and help them to participate in local, national or international partnerships. We are members and coordinators of more clusters in the area: Geothermal Cluster, Machine Industry Cluster, Wood Industry Cluster. These clusters are operating with a lot of member companies and do a lot of common projects, like participate on national and international trades and fairs as exhibitor, organising benchmarking clubs, etc.
Our main activitities
The Heves County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as a chamber of public law is continuing the more than 150 years tradition of the Hungarian CCI. It is operating with voluntary membership since 2000 and the number of the members is about 800, but these enterprises give a large part of the GDP of the County.
Main tasks and services of the chamber:
- Searching for business partners, organizing business meetings and introductions in Hungary and abroad as well.
- Visiting of exhibitions and fairs, organizing the introduction of products.
- Tasks of the chamber in the field of vocational training on the basis of law:
- signing the economic demand to the vocational training system;
- controlling and qualifying the practical training places;
- developing curriculas, operating the trainee-contract system and organizing the master-education and master-examining;
- etc. (see above).
- Providing consultations and organizing forums about the next themes: taxes, finance, law, public procurement, vocational trainings, innovation, quality management, protection of the environment, logistics, duty, foreign trade, licensing and informatics.
- The chamber’s important role is to organize co-operations between enterprises, creating and managing clusters, operating entrepreneurial networks.
- The chamber is in correct and balanced contact with the authorities for the better providing of information for enterprises, and for the simplification of the administration.
- The chamber is lead by an elected presidency with 13 members. The co-operation of the enterprises is realized in the industrial, commercial and handicrafts sections in the frame of operating of professional clubs.
Sándor File
Workplace: Heves Vármegyei Kereskedelmi és Iparkamara
Position: secretary general
Address: H-3300 Eger, Faiskola u. 15.
Phone number: +36 36 429-612 extention 104 // Mobile: +36 30 749 53 81
E-mail address: sandor.file@hkik.hu