12.12.2023
500,000 UNEMPLOYED AND BUSY WILL ACQUIRE DIGITAL SKILLS BY 2026.
By mid -2026, 500,000 unemployed and employed persons for the base and average level of digital skills will be trained, and 100,000 persons who have acquired their digital skills independently will be given the opportunity to take an exam and certified. This was announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivanka Shalapatova during the opening of the National Conference on "Digital Skills for the Digital Decade".
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy organizes the forum within the European Year of Skills and as a national coordinator of activities within the European Year of Skills Year in Bulgaria. The main objective of the event is to provoke a discussion between national and European institutions, employers' and branch organizations, trade unions, academic community and youth organizations on the topic of digital transformation and the growing need for workforce with digital skills sought from the labor market.
National Employment and Training Policy puts as a priority the training of workforce to adapt to structural changes caused by digital and green transition, because the acquisition and improvement of digital skills is more than necessary in today's labor market. The set national goal is to reach participation in training every year of 35.4% of the population in the most active age (25-64). For this purpose, MLSP will develop and implement a national virtual platform for online training for persons over 16, which will give opportunities for flexible forms of training at a convenient time from a distance. The platform will also provide training opportunities adapted to disadvantaged persons in the labor market, such as disabled people with a low level of education and older people.
"In the period 2023 - 2027, we will invest over BGN 1 billion from the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan and the European Social Fund + to finance various workforce training opportunities, with a focus on enhancing digital skills," added Minister Shalapatova.
