01.12.2022

500,000 BULGARIANS WILL ACQUIRE DIGITAL SKILLS BY MID-2026.

The plans of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy are for 500,000 unemployed and employed Bulgarians to acquire digital skills by mid-2026 with funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Emil Mingov.

Within the project, the social ministry will develop a digital platform and electronic resources for conducting online courses. It is planned to create 760 digital clubs, which will also have equipment for online training of disadvantaged people.

Deputy Minister Mingov emphasizes that increasing the quality of the workforce, people's digital skills and the increased use of digital technologies in the training process are among the main priorities of the national employment policy. In this regard, through the Human Resources Development Program 2021-2027, another 160,000 people will participate in specific training for the acquisition of digital skills. According to the deputy minister, about 100,000 people who have digital skills but do not have a certificate will have the opportunity to certify them.

Investing in upskilling and reskilling the workforce is a key priority aimed at fostering an inclusive recovery and supporting the digital and environmental transition.

The Deputy Minister points out that the Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy developed by the ministry also aims to encourage companies to improve working conditions and invest in the development of their employees.

The possibilities of financing projects with EU funds

The operations under the Human Resources Development Program, which are planned for 2023, are mainly related to the development of the labor market and employment support. Among the measures to be launched are "Qualification, skills and career development of employed persons" with a budget of BGN 55 million, "Active inclusion and access to employment of disadvantaged people" with a budget of BGN 30 million, "Sustainable employment for disadvantaged persons" with a budget of BGN 100 million, "Promotion of the social economy at the local and regional level" with a budget of BGN 22 million and "Youth employment +"  with a budget of 80 million BGN. Municipalities can still apply for the "New Opportunity for Youth Employment" project, which is implemented by the Employment Agency.

The Deputy Minister explained the financing possibilities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The investment "Modernization of long-term care" has a budget of over BGN 700 million and is divided into three procedures. The first procedure of these has a budget of BGN 189.8 million and is related to the renovation of 82 residential services for elderly people who are beyond working age. The second measure has a budget of BGN 215 million and will increase energy efficiency in 840 existing social services. Under the third procedure, which has a budget of BGN 331 million, 125 new social services for residential care for people with disabilities and 125 new accompanying specialized and advisory social services for people with disabilities will be built.