23.06.2023

A LARGE NUMBER OF WORKERS HAVE SKILLS THAT ARE NO LONGER NEEDED

Due to population decline, we cannot grow because employers cannot find enough workers or skilled workers. This was stated by the executive director of the Institute for Market Economy, Svetla Kostadinova, in an interview for BTA.

According to her, a significant part of those who work have skills that gradually begin to lose value in the labor market, and very few retrain. This has already had a major effect on the opportunities for foreign and local investors to develop. If we want to attract investments, we have to think in this direction as well.

The Recovery and Resilience Plan is an alternative to not tightening our belts because we have a Eurozone goal. It is good to be used because there is a great need and all other countries are much ahead of us, the executive director of the Institute for Market Economy also pointed out.

And he added that in Bulgaria we have not used anything from this plan so far. We lost two years in which most countries invested in infrastructure and developing the skills of their population, in education reform. That is, we could not take advantage even at the most necessary time, right after the covid pandemic, and I strongly hope that this opportunity will not be completely lost, so that it cannot have any real effect, especially in places, Kostadinova said.

According to her, there are municipalities and regions that succeed in different ways in attracting investors, retaining their people, providing good quality secondary education, but also regions that have no long-term success in any of these areas. They must be supported, including through this Recovery and Resilience Plan.

"There is always an alternative to any policy. What distinguishes the Institute is that our alternative always relies on several principles: low taxes to make the environment good for business; an increase in large social payments, but as much as possible to keep the balance in the budget; and, of course, stop major public policies or part of them that have been proven ineffective," she explained.

According to her, the three percent deficit stated by the Finance Minister sounds good, but if the Recovery and Resilience Plan is not activated and does not actually start working, it will be very difficult to achieve this.

More recent challenges are Schengen, the Eurozone, the budget. Big things are expected to be launched, which could not get in order for a very long time. We are talking about major reforms in the field of education, health care above all - a sector that has an effect on everyone and seizes a large public resource, and there are still many demands on it, the economist pointed out.