The priority of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is the activation of the unused potential of the labor market and the preparation of economically inactive people for the needs of business - said Deputy Minister Natalia Efremova during the business forum "Money under the recovery plan and European structural funds" , organized by KRIB and "24 Chasa".

The measures under the Human Resources Development Program (HRDP) are aimed at activating inactive persons, increasing the number of people with digital and new skills, preparing for the "green" transition and digitalization, overcoming the differences between demanded and offered skills on the labor market, youth employment, adaptation of workers and enterprises to changes and work-life balance.

Over BGN 797.5 million under the program are for providing support for the creation of new jobs and qualification of the workforce, promotion of geographic and labor mobility and development of entrepreneurship and the social economy. A total of BGN 735 million will be directed at young people to ensure better opportunities for their first job, to improve their skills, and to identify and activate young people who are neither working nor in education or training. Various measures will be financed for adaptation of the working environment, optimization of work processes and provision of social benefits at the workplace, for the organization of trainings for professional qualification and retraining, digital and "green" skills, as well as for building skills according to the needs of employers, to ensure a balanced participation of women and men in the labor market, as well as measures for healthy ageing.

Employers were presented with the opportunities to apply this year under the "Human Resources Development" Program and the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, aimed at increasing the skills of the working and unemployed, providing opportunities for subsidized employment and a mentor at the workplace, an adapted working environment and etc. The Deputy Minister presented the measures "Starting a job", "Parents in employment", "Digital skills", "Qualification, skills and career development of employed persons", "Youth employment +", "Adapted working environment", "New skills", "Promoting the social economy at local and regional level", "Active inclusion and access to employment for disadvantaged people" and "Sustainable employment for disadvantaged people".
"The topic of digital training is extremely well represented in the Human Resources Development Program and in the Recovery and Sustainability Plan," emphasized the Deputy Minister. In mid-2023, under the PRDP, the "Digital Skills" measure will be open for applications, which is aimed at unemployed and inactive persons, including young people, in order to organize trainings to improve digital skills, and unemployed participants will be provided with scholarships and transportation for the period of training. With the budget of BGN 40 million, it is expected that more than 40,000 unemployed and inactive persons will be covered. An eligible candidate under the procedure is the Employment Agency.

The Recovery and Resilience Plan also provides funding for digital skills training. The courses will start in 2023, and the goal is to train at least 100,000 employed and unemployed people in one year, and by the end of the project, 500,000 people will be involved in training, including digital skills. It is planned to create a virtual platform where trainings for digital and other skills will be held, as well as validation of knowledge acquired informally.

Source: https://www.mlsp.government.bg