How can we ensure that high school students are adequately covered by health insurance in the event of a workplace injury or occupational disease during their practical training? This crucial question brought together representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of the Zenica-Doboj Canton—who chair the Interactional Focus Group for the Improvement of Secondary Vocational Education—and the German development organization GIZ, in a meeting with the Federal Minister of Health, Nediljko Rimac, and his associates.
The reason? The preparation of a new Health Insurance Law and a shared desire to include clear and effective protections for students in the legal framework—specifically in the event of injury or occupational illness during practical training.
This topic has been recognized as a priority by the Interactional Focus Group, which has adopted concrete conclusions and defined next steps to address this important issue.
Legal experts and institutional representatives agree it is time for a systemic solution that will allow students to exercise their health insurance rights in the case of injury or occupational disease during internships. In the coming months, meetings are planned with cantonal ministries of health and health insurance institutes to discuss the most suitable legal solutions.
The meeting was held as part of the activities under the “Strengthening Secondary Vocational Education and Training in BiH” component of the project “Sustainable Economic Development and Promotion of Employment,” implemented by GIZ and funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Swiss Confederation.
