12.06.2023

DIGITAL SUPPORT IS BEING PREPARED FOR 45 KEY PROFESSIONS

Digital support is being intensively prepared for 45 key professions in our country. This became known from the final conference for reporting the results of the "Digital Support" project, reports the press center of Confederation of labor "Podkrepa".

The need for digitization of 45 basic positions and professions in 9 sectors of the Bulgarian economy has been studied - i.e. 5 main professions from each field. The nine economic sectors are forestry, mining, production of rubber and plastic products, production of products from other non-metallic mineral raw materials, collection and disposal of waste and recycling of raw materials, telecommunications, medical and social care with accommodation, social work without accommodation , as well as "other activities in the field of culture".

Among the professions studied are forest engineer, forester, energy dispatcher, adjuster of injection machines for rubber products, machine operator in the production of cement or concrete products, manager of health and safety working conditions in the collection and recycling of waste, telecommunications technician, medical rehabilitator, speech therapist, psychologist, rehabilitator, museum pedagogue, chief librarian, etc.

During the event, the Deputy Ministers of Labor and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova and Emil Mingov took part, Tsvetan Spasov - Head of the Governing Body of the Human Resources Development Program, Dobrin Ivanov - Executive Director of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, Beata Papazova - adviser "European integration and projects" at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emil Rogov - head of "Projects" of the Union for Economic Initiative and Krasimira Brozig - general secretary of the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training, Polina Marinova - executive director of the Employment Agency.

"Over the past few years, in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, we have been creating an ecosystem of the digital transition," Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova said at the conference, the ministry reports.

She emphasized that together with the social partners, the strategic basis of the digital transition is being created, and with funding from the Human Resources Development Program, the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience and funds from the state budget, a palette of measures will be developed to increase the digital skills of all participants in the labor market and in support of employers.

Currently, the training programs and methodologies are being developed, which are research-based based on the results of the projects implemented by the social partners under the "Development of Digital Skills" operation. Efremova was adamant that for a successful digital transition, efforts must be made to ensure the accessibility of training for digital skills.

"The future will be impossible without digital skills that workers and employees must possess in order to be able to carry out their activities," said the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Prof. Emil Mingov. "The future, especially with the advance of artificial intelligence, will increasingly require the improvement of digital skills if the worker or employee wants to keep his job," he added.

According to the Human Resources Development Program (2021-2027), a resource of BGN 400 million has been earmarked for training for the acquisition of digital skills, Tsvetan Spasov announced. A project with a budget of BGN 390 million will also be implemented under the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience. It is expected that over 700,000 Bulgarian citizens will undergo digital skills training in the next few years. "All of us are obliged to take timely measures to create or increase the digital skills of the workforce in order to be qualitative and competitive both at the European and global level," Spasov pointed out. According to him, without the close interaction between institutions and social partners, this task cannot be carried out.

The level of digital skills of Bulgarian citizens is critically low

According to Eurostat data, published by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria on the website of the trade union organization, our country ranks fourth in the EU (before Italy, Poland and Romania) in terms of the share of the population possessing basic digital skills - 23.4 %, compared to 27.5% on average for the EU. Only 7.8% of individuals have skills above basic (26.5% EU average). In terms of the share of persons without general digital competences, we are ahead of only Romania (10.13%) - in Bulgaria their share is 6.2%, and on average for the EU they are 3%. Bulgaria also leads the negative ranking in terms of the share of the population whose digital skills and competences cannot be assessed because they have not used the Internet in the last 3 months – 24.7% compared to the EU average of 11 percent.

According to the National Statistical Institute, about 13% of Bulgarians have never used the Internet, with 16% in the North-Western region and 7.6% in the South-Western region, adds the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria.

A study by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, carried out together with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Social Affairs, recently showed that if there is no effective system and accessible tools for skill development, if lifelong learning and improvement are not encouraged, one in three workers in of us will be at risk of falling out of the labor market due to deficits in digital competence.

The analysis of digital skills in 16 economic sectors in our country showed that only 19% of the workforce has digital competence for the position they hold. Against this backdrop, over 90% of jobs require specific types of digital skills.

According to the analyses, the accelerated entry of information technologies into life and the economy is increasing digital inequality. With the "migration" of public life to the virtual world, it increasingly leads to social isolation, lagging behind modern social trends and deterioration of the quality of life. There is inequality in access to the labor market, in suitability for employment and mobility, added the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria.

Challenges to lifelong learning and limited investment in training are also holding back EU efforts to close the digital skills gap by 2030, according to EU representatives and experts, who are calling for urgent support to upskill and reskill people of all ages. Under the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU aims to ensure that at least 60% of all adults take part in training each year by 2030. In 2021, the proportion of adults who report taking part in education or training is averaged 10.8%, with the highest numbers in Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The participation rate is lowest in Bulgaria and Romania.

According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, education remains low in many countries because of high prices and disparities in its quality, highlighting the need for more public investment in lifelong learning.