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SOCIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD TO A MARKET ECONOMY
© Venelin Terziev*
Vasil Levski National Military University, Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo
The paper discusses the development of social policies in the transition period presenting the specific case of the Republic of Bulgaria. Employment policies and measures are examined in conection to the national governmental policies and in conditions of some major changes in economic and social life in the transition to a market economy and joining the EU. National programs are described which are targeted to provide acceleration of the structural reform and mitigation of unemployment. The lessons learnt during their preparation, organization and implementation is a valuable experience on which basis priorities of future development are set.
Key words: labor market, employment, unemployment, social program.
Introduction
The economic activity, the employment of the population with productive labor, is the most important factor for economic growth and success of the integration processes. In the period of the transition to a market economy and joining to the EU, the increase in employment can contribute to the overcoming of the social insecurity and poverty and it can improve the social cohesion in society. As a factor for economic growth at this stage, employment is important for Bulgaria in terms of its quality structures, sectoral and branch redistribution, mobility and price. Regarding its rate and structure, the employment is a result of the economic development of the radical changes occurred in the structure of ownership and production. In large part, however, it is a result of the ongoing economic, social and political reforms. On the basis of the presented development processes and the pursued policies, we could generalize and make a number of conclusions for the economic activity, employment and unemployment.
Traditional active measures for maintenance of employment and limitation or transformation of unemployment are intended as follows: first, to stimulate employers to open new jobs or to keep the existing ones and secondly, to stimulate the activity of employees in their adaptation to the requirements of the economy through professional and territorial mobility and qualification upgrading. The group of these measures also includes the mediation between employers and employees through labor offices, subsidies to stimulate employment in the private sector (for opening of additional jobs), reduction of taxation, provision of credits under preferential conditions, creation of jobs in the public sector for the public
* Professor, D.Sc, Ph.D, Dipl. Eng. Department of Business Administration and logistics.
benefit, subsidies for the unemployed opening their own business, training and retraining of unemployed and employed, acquiring of new qualification and qualification upgrading within organizations, promoting territorial mobility of employees by covering the cost of the travelling and the settlement in a new location and more. These general incentives characterizing the active state policy may not have the required effect in Bulgaria, unless preceded or accompanied by a comprehensive structural reform of the economy, privatization of state enterprises and liquidation of entire losing industries in the economy. These measures contribute to the prevention of the deepening of the fragmentation process of the labor society.
Main aspects of employment and unemployment are the subject of analysis and publications of a number of Bulgarian authors like Katia Vladimirova, Dimitar Shopov, Jordan Hristoskov Vasil Tsanov, Pobeda Lukanova Iskra Beleva, Mariana Atanasova etc. [1-13]. None of these papers however aims at theoretical and methodological justification and comprehensive assessment of the impact of active policies, programs and measures and their assessment on the regional and national labor market. None of the existing Bulgarian research papers aims at theoretical and methodological justification and comprehensive impact assessment on a certain national program (with a relatively large range) on the national labor market.
As a concept that is too frequently employed and constantly used in the practice of the state government, for the time being the social programming does not imply the inclusion of a mandatory comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of all stages in the development of its product - «social programs», not to mention an assessment of their impact. In Bulgaria after 1989, the only program with a relatively large range implemented in the labor market is the National Program «From Social Assistance to Employment», which is implemented in all municipalities, and has the largest number of beneficiaries included. In this regard, we aim at complex assessment of the largest program as a tool to affect the labor market and as a function of the state, as well as an assessment of its effectiveness.
Thus, the object of this study are the national labor market and the active policies and programs on it. The main objective is to present and ascertain if the implemented active policies, programs and measures are sufficiently effective tool in terms of both national and regional labor markets.
Employment policies and measures
The general measures of the so called passive policy on unemployment and employment include: providing insurance and support to unemployed, systems for flexible or early retirement, special schemes for retirement of long-term unemployed, annual leave extension, reduction of the daily or weekly working time, creation of conditions and organization for working part-time, prolongation of maternity leave, including the provision of special benefits for mothers who entirely devote themselves to taking care of their children, limiting the excess work, extending the right to leave granted for education and training, etc.
All these measures are (directly or indirectly) focused on reducing the supply of labor and relieving the tension in the labor market. Although relating to the passive labor policy, most of them aim at achieving one additional effect, namely related to the redistribution of labor in society, also including the reallocation of jobs to those who have jobs and those who do not, redistribution of working hours in the same direction and thus redistribution of income.
The privilege of having a full-day, week-round and year-round job at a good price of the labor must be generally typical of a wider circle of the employable population. In societies with high labor productivity and normal economic growth such a policy is completely possible without detriment to the interests of employers and employees.
Passive policy measures may prevent the fragmentation and the segmentation of the labor market and the employable population. The social effect of the redistribution of labor would have a significant impact.
Alternative policies on employment and against unemployment appear as a result of the understanding that comprehensive state programs, with their universal character, are not effective in case of mass unemployment and do not comply with the interests, the attitudes and the culture of certain groups of the population. Although they reflect the selective approach in the labor policy, it would be wrong to believe that they are intended only for the vulnerable groups of the population. In their essence, alternative policies reject traditional employment programs and at the same time in certain cases they allow state financial support for their realization.
An alternative economy is one that consciously seeks new content, objectives and organizational forms of the human activity. The new content of the alternative economy is sought in areas that are not particularly attractive for investment of private capital, such as ecology (including the production of environmentally friendly products, new energy technologies), joint production or business with countries of the Third World, recovery of handicrafts and industries and others. At the same time alternative employment can be achieved in the field of a number of socio-political projects, such as integration of emigrants in the economic and social life, fight with drug addiction, etc.
The new features in the organizational forms of an alternative economy include: collaboration liberated from hierarchy, self-management and elimination of the opposition of ownership of capital and ownership of workforce and also more or less connection of working life with the life of the community outside the world of work.
Alternative employment can be regarded as a more specific way of organizing the labor of people who are not always unemployed or threatened by unemployment and still less belong to a risk group, but want to realise themselves in a new way in the process of labor: to be autonomous, to combine work with what is called «hobby» in ordinary life, not to follow the traditional forms of work organ-
ization and management. This type of alternative employment does not solve the problems of discriminated groups in labor. Rather, it is a way to meet the more specific needs of the people with high demands on labor and quality of life. The disadvantage of this type of employment is «self-exploatation» as a secondary effect of the increased personal and collective initiative. The weak point of this type of employment is that it is primarily financed by personal funds. Such type of economy and employment is mostly supported by soft loans.
Mass unemployment and the needed application of selective approaches in employment policy necessitated the implementation of employment, primarily involving risk groups. It has the following main applications:
- equality in labor relations - policy should provide a basis for equitable treatment of all people capable of working and willing to work;
- promotion of their participation in the labor market;
- use of flexible forms of employment;
- promotion of their own entrepreneurial activity;
- encouraging education and training of women;
- programs promoting youth employment and prevention programs against youth unemployment;
- programs for long-term unemployed;
- promotion and financial support of groups for self-help;
- promotion of work for the public benefit.
The active measures of a more general nature, affecting all risk groups, include:
- special subsidies to private employers to create jobs for young people, disabled, long-term unemployed;
- promotion of alternative groupings for the production of goods and services that are not produced by mass production;
- receipt of unemployment benefits in the form of a capital for starting own business;
- penalties to the employers who refuse employment to people belonging to risk groups;
- improvement of the economic and social infrastructure of some territories in order to increase the territorial mobility, especially in areas with high concentration of ethnic groups;
- financial support of groups for mutual self-help and for work in the public benefit.
The activities of the employment policy give priority to:
- development and improvement of laws and regulations;
- decentralization and regionalization;
- increase in employment;
- decline in the number of unemployed;
- reduction of the duration of the stay of unemployed in the labor market;
- socioeconomic integration of risk groups;
- development of vocational training of employed and unemployed persons (continuing education, training for acquiring a new qualification, qualification upgrading, retraining of employed and unemployed persons);
- strengthening the capacity of the structures;
- development of entrepreneurship;
- development of social partnership in vertical and horizontal direction not only with the traditional social partners (employers, trade unions), but also with non-governmental organizations working in the field of employment and vocational training;
- development and improvement of the database.
As an element of the social protection system in case of unemployment, passive measures against unemployment include:
- cash unemployment compensations;
- cash unemployment benefits;
- recognition of professional experience and payment of contributions for pension and health insurance for unemployed persons receiving unemployment compensations.
A wide range of active measures and programs regulated by the Protection against unemployment and employment promotion act (in effect until 31.12.2001) were implemented in the country and covered the following areas:
- to reduce unemployment and promote employment;
- to facilitate the business launch and development;
- for unemployed youths;
- for a transition from passive to active measures;
- to promote the development of a labor market open to everybody;
- to develop opportunities for creation of new jobs;
- to facilitate the transition from school to work;
- to support adaptability in enterprises;
- participation in the development of business infrastructure, etc.
The events and policy instruments affecting the labor market most often include:
1. Information and consultation of young people and adults on all matters relating to the choice and change of a profession, opportunities for training and finding employment.
2. Assistance in finding employment and stimulation of the acceptance of a job through financial aid for employers and employees.
3. Stimulation of professional training through events for continuing education, qualification upgrading, retraining and more.
These events are mainly aimed at regional and especially at local labor markets and/or professionally specialized labor markets and aim to overcome the imbalance formed between them regarding labor supply and demand.
1. Events for opening and maintenance of jobs. Here one can include incentives to employers of seasonal industries (construction, etc.), to ones in temporary financial or production difficulties, the use of reduced working hours or other forms of flexible, non-traditional employment.
2. Payment of unemployment compensations, aid for long-term unemployed and for other people not receiving compensations.
The case of the Republic of Bulgaria
The government policy on the employment of unemployed is divided into two groups of measures and programs - active and passive. The first one is used to stimulate employment and the acquiring of qualification and the second one is related to the financial and informational support of unemployed (benefits, labor offices, etc.).
The active employment policy of the government and its specialized body (in Bulgaria it is the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, respectively, the National Employment Service at it and later - the Employment Agency) provides a number of measures and programs to promote employment of the population and the employment of workforce by employers, job creation and others - both for employed and unemployed. In recent years measures and programs for employment, vocational training and retraining have mostly been carried out at the expense of the State budget.
Upon the formation of the staff, the policies and programs of the government in the field of employment and unemployment are of interest to organizations in several ways:
1. Opportunity to hire relatively cheap workforce in conditions of high unemployment (via labor offices) - people who are mostly high or well-qualified, motivated to work.
2. Opportunity to take advantage of a number of measures and programs aimed at supporting the hiring of certain categories of unemployed (young people without professional experience but with professional training, people, transferred to a more appropriate job (for reasons of health), long-term unemployed, etc.) in which the majority of the funds for salaries are at the expense of the above-mentioned source, which means it is much cheaper to hire certain categories of workforce.
3. To use the offered tax and interest reliefs in hiring and/or increasing employment in the organization, which is actually increasing its efficiency, lowering the costs, etc.
4. To prepare, train or retrain unemployed or threatened by unemployment at the expense of external sources (the sources already mentioned) - people who will be hired by the organisation after that.
The measures and programs from which organizations can benefit are specific and are determined by the level of unemployment and the degree of imbalance of the various private labor markets. Most often these include:
1. Stimulation of the different categories of unemployed for work and of employers for their employment;
2. Encouraging employers to create jobs and increase employment;
3. Creation of temporary employment (the so-called subsidized employment) for certain groups of unemployed by involving them in various programs such as the Temporary employment program, the Youth employment program, programs for alternative employment, the program «From Social Assistance to Employ-ment», training programs and more.
The active employment policy includes a number of measures and opportunities for employment and preparation for it, from which some groups of unemployed can benefit. Basically these are unemployed, for whom it is more difficult to find work, because they are not sufficiently competitive, they are not preferred by employers for one or other reason, but in practice this leads to their discrimination in the labor market. These are young people without professional experience; people who are not able to work or more precisely, persons with reduced ability to work; disabled and pensioners of working age, long-term unemployed without professional training and others (women, ethnic groups, young people, adults).
By means of this set of measures and programs, the government (through its specialized organ - the Employment Agency and local directorates - labor offices), with the cooperation of social partners (organisations of trade unions and employers) and public funds (mainly from the specialized fund «Professional qualification and unemployment», the State budget or international programs and funds) stimulates employers to hire different groups of unemployed, to create jobs for them, even temporary, but with a guaranteed income in the form of wages, social insurance and with the provision of opportunity for them to demonstrate their professional, labor and personal qualities, to show up in the world of work.
Young professionals and young qualified workers, the ones who have just graduated from the relevant schools, do not have work experience, but when registered in labor offices, they can be employed by companies and other organizations and receive the relevant employment benefits, obtain social insurance and gain work experience and general experience. For this purpose employers are encouraged to hire (outside the vacancies announced by them) young professionals and young skilled workers suitable for them and directed by labor offices. In this way employers actually obtain workforce at a very low price, they can use the enthusiasm and the desire for work of the most prepared and the youngest part of the economically active population of the country, to form and prepare them according to its policy on human resources, to select the workforce most appropriate to them. Young people without work experience, becoming a more significant proportion of the unemployed, are less likely to find a job precisely because of their inexperience and lack of labor qualification. Now they get a chance to work, to prove themselves in it and on this basis to be employed, to have their employment contract continued and last, but not least - to receive higher income earned through labor, to gain some
professional experience. For this purpose contracts are concluded: one between the labor office and the organization that employs such young people, and another - between the unemployed youths directed by the labor office and the employers. The first contract ensures the employment of young people and the transfer of sums from the State budget (respectively other public funds) for them to companies and organizations, employing young professionals or skilled young workers under a temporary contract. The second contract, which is concluded between the employer and the employed young person, determines the period of employment, the remuneration amount and others. It is used by the employers to guarantee their commitment to the first contract and to pay the employed youths wages amounting to no less than the minimum wage established for the country.
Persons with reduced ability to work, registered as unemployed at labor offices and seeking employment and receiving income from work, may also use the incentives aimed at employers for their hiring. The existing measures in favor of this group of unemployed are based on the special protection of persons with disabilities provided in the Labor Code. For each person with disabilities, employed under this norm and directed by labor offices, the employer receives a sum amounting to the minimum salary and the related to it other complementary payments under the Labor Code and the amounts covering the provision for all insurance risks for the period, during which the person is employed and in accordance with the established terms in the Employment Promotion Act. In this way employers are in practice encouraged to hire, to increase the number of jobs for people transferred to a more appropriate job (for reasons of health), to maintain relatively cheap workforce.
Long-term unemployed (those are persons registered as unemployed for 12 months and more and not having found a proper job for that period) can immediately benefit from the Temporary employment program (now program «From Social Assistance to Employment») and its actual implementation in municipalities and labor offices, i.e. from its focus on regional labor markets and the unemployed in the most difficult financial and social situation.
For example, in the long term the Temporary employment program (started in the early 90s) aimed to reduce unemployment «by creating additional jobs in socially useful activities in order to provide temporary employment of long-term unemployed» [6-13]. The immediate objectives of each of the specific programs developed in the municipalities for temporary employment were:
- Creation of additional jobs in the intrinsic municipal activities such as utilities, development and improvement of the settlement, maintenance and protection of municipal property, environmental protection, maintenance and conservation of historical monuments and sites of tourist destinations, social assistance and others.
- Providing employment for a period of up to five months for unemployed persons without profession and with low education, who have been reg-
istered in labor offices as job seekers for a period of 12 months and more. The unemployed persons included in this program are hired under fixed-term contracts for a maximum of five months and are provided with a monthly salary amounting to at least the minimum wage. Temporary employment programs provide other options for the unemployed included in them for a certain period of time (not longer than 5 months). After this period, if the unemployed finds a job under a fixed-term contract for at least a few months (together with the term under the program reaching 9 months), they acquire again the right to receive unemployment benefits if they become unemployed and if they are duly registered in the labor office by residence. The term and the amount of the new compensation are settled again - depending on the age and the work experience at the time of the registration and the average monthly gross salary received in the last nine months of work in an employment relationship. The opportunities offered by the program were or could be mostly beneficial for unemployed without professional training and with low education, unemployed without the right to receive cash benefits and unemployment benefits, unemployed from the Roma population, young people without qualifications, profession and/or work experience and other people without much chances to find a suitable job or to be employed by the relevant employers.
Employees and employers from organizations with a stay of more than 30 days could benefit from the program. In this way financial support was provided to employers so that they refrained from dismissals due to the stay, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to employees so that they could receive at least the minimum wage for the duration of their stay.
Persons already dismissed and the ones being dismissed from production due to the restructuring and partial liquidation of industries and registering as unemployed in the relevant labor offices could participate in various programs for alternative employment. They provided for the creation of new industries and businesses, providing employment, jobs to the dismissed from various sectors (coal mining, ore mining etc.), as well as professional preparation of these persons for the establishing or expanding of business and other activities. The fairly widely used Program for literacy training, training and employment was created above all to gradually solve the problem of acute socioeconomic importance, connected with the significant unemployment among the Roma population.
Young people up to 30 years, among whom unemployment is generally high and who form a substantial proportion of the unemployed, may be included in various programs suitable for them. For example, launched in the country in the mid-90s, the Youth employment program, similar to those functioning in a number of countries, set as its general objective «economic and social integration of young people in society». The more specific objectives were improving the work-
force quality; providing training and retraining adequate to the offered jobs; promotion of youth entrepreneurship; execution of active labor mediation. Some specific programs such as «Career start», computer and language training, internships and more were also created later.
Another group of active policy measures was aimed to directly stimulate employers to increase employment, open new jobs, hire unemployed registered in labor offices, refrain from layoffs, keep the existing jobs. This is especially true during periods of mass dismissals (restructuring, financial and economic crises).
The law in effect provides encouragement, stimulation of employers, support from the National Employment Service, municipal administrations and others for the implementation of programs and measures for employment of unemployed such as: university graduates up to 28 years of age or people at the age of up to 24, with secondary or lower education, who have no work experience; persons with reduced ability to work and orphans; people with permanently reduced ability to work in organizations with fewer than 50 employees, with 50 or more employees; long-term unemployed; unemployed who are hired part-time and others. For every unemployed registered in labor offices, hired for a certain period of time (3 to 24 months for different groups), the employers receive, under a contract with the labor office, at the expense of the State budget, sums amounting to the minimum wage established for the country and the contributions due on it for insurance (social, health and unemployment) for the period during which the person is employed.
The law also provides incentives to employers - sole proprietors to hire their first 5 workers from labor offices under an employment contract for a period of 24 months, as for this purpose 12 monthly contributions are reimbursed to them.
Many of the programs are for vocational training, career guidance and job placement of the relevant groups of unemployed. Another large group of programs is focused on regional markets and the organization of work and working hours.
Programs and measures targeted at accelerating structural reform and overcoming unemployment in the transition period in the Republic of Bulgaria
The following programs and measures are implemented for the purpose of developing conditions for acceleration of the structural reform:
Project Fund «Regional Initiatives»
Originally created with funds lent to the Bulgarian government by the World Bank, subsequently the Fund has been financed by grants from the US government and targeted subsidies from the State budget. The main objectives of the project are: financing of micro projects of municipalities and non-governmental organizations through which temporary and sustainable employment is created; vocational training; mitigating the negative social effect of the structural reform
in the economy; improvement of the social and economic infrastructure and creation of conditions for economic development. 58 projects were financed with the available funds across the country.
To limit the spread of unemployment and to reduce its duration among people in the most difficult situation in the labor market, the following actions have been implemented:
For long-term unemployed
Program for providing temporary employment and program « Winter» - provides employment (with a duration of 5 months at the longest) for unemployed in generally useful activities.
Program «From Social Assistance to Employment» - aimed at the unemployed who are on social assistance or face the risk of going to live on social assistance, single mothers and other disadvantaged groups placed in the labor market. Encouraging employers to hire long-term unemployed.
Project «Beautiful Bulgaria II» - funded by the European Union and the Development Program of the United Nations - aimed at alleviating the social burden of the reforms in the country by creating temporary employment in 11 cities (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo, Vratsa, Silistra, Vidin, Stara Zagora, Yambol and Razgrad). It also aims at stimulating decentralization and good governance through enhancing the capacity of municipal authorities and other local actors to jointly implement an active market policy in the field of employment. The following training courses were organised within the project: «Start your own business», «Master your construction business», «Healthy and safety work conditions». The project started in September 1999 and ended in February 2001. By the end of 1999, 429 unemployed were trained, 435 unemployed were included in the project activities. The project was implemented in the towns of Lovech, Veliko Tarnovo, Targovishte, Ruse and Sofia, where the financing came from the municipalities and the UNDP (Development Program of the United Nations).
Support to the professional realization and the social integration of youths-graduates from institutions for raising and education of children deprived of parental care, with secondary education. In pursuance of Appendix №1 to the Agreement between the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Ministry of Education and Science for cooperation in the field of employment policy and qualifications for job placement of young secondary school graduates.
For unemployed youths: Encouraging employers to hire young people.
For disabled: Encouraging employers to hire unemployed people with permanently deteriorated work ability.
For unemployed with low education and without qualification is implemented the program «Literacy training, training, employment».
For unemployed from the minorities - Fund «Regional Initiatives» finances employment projects, employing Roma persons - gathering and processing of
plastic waste in the municipalities of Ruse, Vratsa, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, etc.; herbs growing - Elhovo. Microprojects within the RDF provided also the development of some Roma neighborhoods.
At the end of 1998, the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria approved Rules for the development and implementation of national, sectoral and regional employment programs in order to reduce the pressure on the labor market in the structural reform period. The main objective of employment programs is to limit the spread of unemployment and to shorten its duration in the conditions of the restructuring of the Bulgarian economy. The Minister of Labor and Social Policy approved a methodological manual on the development of regional employment programs, which was granted for use to regional and local administrations, regional employment services, labor offices and other social partners in the labor market. A main principle in the development and implementation of regional employment programs is the social dialogue. For this purpose in 1999 Regional Employment Councils were structured throughout the country, by areas and/or by municipalities. The composition of the regional councils included representatives of district administrations, municipal administrations, regional employment services, labor offices, regional structures of the nationally represented organizations of employers, regional structures of the nationally represented organizations of employees, fund «Agriculture» for the region, Territorial statistical management, non-governmental organizations (on the issues of the social policy), employment associations, agencies, business centers, etc. At the end of 1999 the first regional employment programs were launched in Shumen and Ruse. The programs were tailored to the specifics of the economic opportunities for regional development and the problems of the regional labor markets.
For example, in 1999, 16,573 unemployed were included in vocational training courses. During the year 1091 training courses for vocational qualification were conducted, while in 1998 they were 602. In the same year the funds spent on active measures were 25.9 % of the total spending from the fund «Professional Qualification and Unemployment». Their proportion decreased by 5.3 points compared to 1998. The amount spent on active measures was with 42.4 % more compared to 1998. This was due to the development and improvement of the policies and programs related to employment promotion and to an increase in the quality characteristics of the workforce. The relative share of the expenditures for active measures from the overall cost from fund PQU was reduced due to the increased cost on passive measures and «others» as a result of the increase in the number of persons involved in passive measures, the lump-sum compensation under the terms of Decree №100 of the Council of Ministers of 1998 and others.
Until 1998 the active policy in the labor market was regulated by acts of the Council of Ministers: from 1 January 1998 - the Act on Protection against Unemployment and Employment Promotion and from 1 January 2002 - the Employment Promotion Act. It was aimed at unemployed, employers, employees and
social partners in order to create favorable conditions for promoting employment and reducing the pressure on the labor market.
Before the adoption of the new Act on Protection against Unemployment and Employment Promotion, in 1999 the Dutch economic institute made an estimation of the net impact of active programs and measures in the labor market. Its main purpose was to provide information about the net impact and the effectiveness of the costs for certain active measures applied to different categories of unemployed under the changing conditions in the labor market. The study covered the entire country and was conducted by the method of «control group». The persons included were those involved in the following programs and measures in 1998: Training / retraining; temporary employment; self-employment; subsidized employment; employment associations (table 1).
Table 1
Gross and net effect by programs (in %)
Employment Control group Gross effect Net effect
Temporary employment 27.0 18.7 -8.3"
Training / retraining 27.0 39.1 12.1"
Subsidized employment 27.0 63.7 36.7"
Employment associations 26.9 53.5 26.6"
Self-employment 27.0 76.5 39.5"
** Statistically significant difference at 1 % level of significance in bilaterally critical area.
Four of all the five programs had a positive net effect, i.e. the participation in these programs had improved the chances of the participants in the programs for finding a new job in the primary labor market.
The final results of the study confirm the pursued government policy for the development of measures related to improving the quality characteristics of the workforce and the expansion of programs related to sustainable employment or following sustainable employment.
The preparation for the implementation of projects of the type financed by the European Social Fund can be seen as a presence of certain key conditions -legislative and institutional ones, mechanisms for management, control, monitoring and evaluation. The necessary legislative and institutional basis exists in the country. The implementation of internationally funded projects (cofunding) creates the necessary capacity for management of such projects at national and regional level. In this aspect one can point out the following more major projects implemented in the country:
- Project «Regional Initiatives Fund» (RIF);
- Project «Beautiful Bulgaria» II.
The National program «From Social Assistance to Employment» is one of the tools of the employment policy. The program is consistent with the policy principles of the European Union «Employment for social integration» and one of the
main objectives of the European employment strategy - to help people to be better prepared for work and to take actions for protecting them from their possible isolation from society as a whole.
Table 2
Included persons and money spent on programs and measures for employment and training implemented by the Employment Agency in the period from 1999 to 2002
1999 2000 2001 2002
£ £ £ £
О О О О
Programs and measures И ^ч И ^ч И ^ч И ^ч
for employment and training m m m m
is ¡¡3 is is
1 3 1 3 1 Й 1 3
UN FS UN FS UN FS UN FS
1. Temporary employment 79544 30303 38327 15143 31797 13776 654 6221
2. Training and retraining 19701 1602 13427 1230 4626 581 15051 2314
3. Self-employment 2966 2214 2393 1992 820 689 583 5
4. Subsidized employment 17635 3632 32193 8303 53627 25502 106963 46273
Total as a proportion of the GDP in % 0,27 0,22 0,24 0,26
The main goal set is to provide employment and social integration of the unemployed who are subject to monthly social assistance, through the creation of jobs in activities of general social interest for the municipality and the state and the provision of social services and enhancing their employment appropriateness through their involvement in literacy training and training for professional qualification and for building work habits.
The implementation of this program aims to provide opportunities for longer employment of unemployed persons under the same program - for up to three years. In this period they are provided with an opportunity for literacy education and professional training and for acquisition of the necessary practical skills and professional experience, so that after the maximum period of their participation in the program, they become more competitive in the local labor markets.
In this connection, trainings for literacy and for acquiring vocational qualification are organized within the program. Literacy training is executed in combination with the work within the approved projects. In literacy training courses are included unemployed who identify themselves as illiterate and have no document for completed primary education. The training takes place for a maximum of seven months, with four lessons every day, following a curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education and Science. The classes are conducted in time, consistent with the specifics of the work activity under the project, through primary schools and by experienced teachers. The training for acquiring professional qualification is implemented in order to prepare people for the jobs within the projects approved under the program.
After examining the need of skilled workforce at regional level, ten training programs were developed and approved by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy in the following areas:
- construction painter - paper-hanger;
- worker for tiling and flooring;
- worker in construction, repair and maintenance of roofs;
- installer of water-supply and sewerage systems;
- bricklayer - plasterer;
- road builder;
- construction tinsmith;
- construction carpenter;
- herb picker;
- worker in landscaping.
For professions, for which there is still no established curriculum, the training can be conducted following a curriculum developed by the training organization. The duration of this training is 300 hours, the majority of them being practical exercises.
The training for professional qualification is conducted by training institutions that are selected by the relevant labor offices through a competition under the terms of the Public Procurement Act. After the completion of the training, the unemployed obtain legitimate document which is a certificate of completed vocational training. The training is aimed at providing practical skills which can be useful for the unemployed in their subsequent career development and after the completion of the project. All persons involved in the qualification training are paid scholarships for the period of their participation in the training. Moreover, the learners are provided with sums for transportation and accommodation when the training takes place in a location different from the place where they live.
The activities in which the unemployed persons can be involved under the program are utilities, development and improvement of the settlement and production areas, maintenance and protection of state and municipal property, industrial activities, environmental protection, social activities and etc.
The work under the program is appropriate and offered to long-term unemployed (persons with regularly maintained registration at labor offices for more than one year), subject to monthly social assistance; unemployed persons entitled to monthly social assistance and taking permanent care of disabled or seriously ill persons. Priority for inclusion in the program is given to: long-term unemployed persons regularly registered in labor offices for twenty-four months or more and supported by the Social Assistance for eighteen months or more; a member of a family with children, in which both parents are unemployed and the family is subject to monthly social assistance; single unemployed parent (adoptive parent), who is subject to monthly social assistance. The selection is done by means of an individual approach. People with reduced ability to work, pregnant women, mothers of children
under three years of age and persons who take care of disabled and seriously ill family members are included in the program only if they have shown desire for that.
Under the program can also be hired unemployed persons who are not on social assistance, and their task is to put into work, to support and organize other persons in carrying out the planned activities. Their number is up to 20 % of the number of the unemployed hired under the program, without including the activity «Personal assistant».
Pursuant to the Social Assistance Act, it is envisaged a job to be provided under an employment contract (full- or part-time, year-round) for the calendar year and up to 36 months. The employment of the persons included in the program is for a period of no less than nine months within twelve months from the date of their initial inclusion, as this may be provided by one or more than one employer with approved projects, in one or more activities. In the selection of suitable persons to work under the program, one individually takes into account the need to increase their competitiveness in the labor market through motivation, their involvement in literacy training and vocational training.
In 2003 the inclusion of employers in the program was done on a competitive basis. In the beginning of November 2002 was launched the first application procedure for the employers who wanted to participate in the program in 2003. This was done through a presentation of individual projects in LOD, following an established pattern. The projects were accepted and evaluated in LOD. Cooperation Councils are institutionalized at LOD, pursuant to art. 12 of the Employment Promotion Act and Employment Committees - at District councils for regional development. The initiators' projects are evaluated according to criteria for project selection established by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy. Different sets of criteria are provided for each level of evaluation. The final decision on the projects financing is taken by the central administration of the Employment Agency. The Cooperation Council carries out direct supervision and control of the employment policy and takes part in the evaluation process of the employers' projects under the program. This body evaluates the projects according to their compliance with the local priorities - appropriateness and complementarity.
Acting within its competences, the Employment Commission at the District councils for regional development provides conditions for pursuing of the regional employment policy in accordance with the national priorities. In this connection, the Employment Committee is involved in the overall process of program implementation and project selection. It evaluates the ranked projects according to approved criteria for compliance with the regional priorities. Each project must be compatible with the priorities enlisted in the Regional Development Plan and must contribute to the development of the region. The objects set in the project and the activities related to them should not duplicate objects and activities that take place in the region at that moment or that will be carried out by other organizations, companies or donor programs in the near future.
It is necessary that the job creation complies largely with the capabilities of the individuals to work, i.e. takes into consideration the fact that those participating in the program are long-term unemployed, without qualification and work habits. In addition, quality care shall be provided in a family environment for seriously ill people and persons with disabilities. The participants in the program are given the opportunity to acquire literacy and professional qualification in accordance with the requirements of the jobs opened under the program.
The controlling of the quality and timely execution of the planned volumes of work within the approved projects leads to the improvement of the technical and social infrastructure of municipalities. In the process of program implementation, a partnership is being developed between institutions, which is a step towards the realization of good future cooperation when applying for other funding sources. As an active and equal partner, municipalities are mostly interested in the increase of human welfare, people's labor activity and their ability to cope independently in everyday life.
NGOs also play a particularly important role in the field of social protection, because in most cases they represent and defend the interests of certain groups of disadvantaged people. By getting to know the specifics of individual communities (life, culture, religion, labor and social skills and habits, health state and problems of this nature), NGOs take the place of an equal partner in the development and implementation of social protection and ensure its reaching to any particular addressee. Especially important is the partnership with non-governmental organizations providing social services.
National program «Preservation of Harvest»
The main objective of this program is to increase employment through creation of additional jobs for seasonal work in activities for preserving agricultural production. The immediate objectives are related to the security of agricultural production, providing income and employment for long-term unemployed and reducing social tensions. As a priority the program is oriented towards long-term unemployed and people dismissed by the MoD (Ministry of Defence) and the MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs).
National Program «Assistance for Retirement»
The program aims to provide employment and assistance for retirement of unemployed persons who need thirty-six months more of professional experience to reach the required combination of professional experience and age, entitling them to pension. Through it these persons are provided with employment for supplementing the missing professional experience.
Many people in the target group under the program are long-term unemployed. In 2002, the relative proportion of long-term unemployed over 50 years of the total long-term unemployed was 23.9 % and increased by 1.6 percentage points, as compared to 2001.
For employing each of these persons for a period not shorter than three months and not exceeding thirty-six months, the employers receive funds from the State budget covering:
- wages for actual time in employment in an amount annually determined by the National Employment Action Plan for the relevant year;
- additional remuneration in the minimum amounts established in the Labor Code and the regulations for its implementation;
- the contributions due on these sums by employers to the funds SSS and NHIF.
- In order to have the chance to participate in the program, the unemployed must meet the following conditions:
- to be registered as unemployed at labor offices and to actively seek work;
- to need 36 more months of professional experience for formation of the required combination of insurance professional experience and age, which entitles to pension pursuant to art. 68, para 1-3 of CPIC
- to provide a certificate of lack of professional experience of thirty-six months issued by the territorial division of NII.
- not to receive a pension on other grounds.
In order to use the preferences of the program, employers must hire unemployed in additionally created jobs opened over the average listed number of personnel in the enterprise, by providing funds for material expenses and retirement benefits (gross salary for two months).
Project «Increasing employability and entrepreneurship promotion of youths» -Module 1 «Employment of young people with university education in public administration»
This module provides an opportunity for young people with university education to start work immediately after their graduation, under an employment contract for six months and for a salary amounting to two minimum wages. The condition of participation is that the acquired education and qualification are in compliance with the announced needs and that these persons have an average grade of graduation not less than 4,00.
Encouraging employers to hire long-term unemployed
Pursuant to art. 37 of the EPA, an employer who employs (under an employment contract, for a trial period in compliance with the LC) unemployed persons with permanently maintained registration for no less than twelve months, directed by the divisions of the EA, based on a contract pursuant to the terms of art. 30, para. 6, shall receive sums for salaries and the contributions due on them by the employer to the Social Security Funds (SSF) and NHIF, for each employee for the duration of the trial period.
Encouraging employers to hire young people
The measure under art. 36 of the EPA is aimed at employers who hire unemployed under 29 years of age, for a full-time job, for a period of no less than twelve months. These include unemployed who have not had a job after their graduation and who are directed by the divisions of the EA. Based on a contract under the terms of art. 30, para 6, for every such person employed, the employers shall be provided with sums for salaries and the contributions due on them by the employer to the SSF and NHIF for the time these persons remained employed, however, for 12 months at the longest (para 1).
This preference can also be used (for a period of no more than twenty-four months) by employers employing young people with permanently deteriorated work ability and young people from social institutions, who have graduated but have no professional experience (para 2).
For acquiring professional qualification
The measure pursuant to art.41 of the EPA is intended for employers who accept (for training for acquisition of professional qualification and/or apprenticeship) unemployed under 29 years of age, directed by the divisions of the EA. Based on a contract pursuant to the terms of art. 30, para 6, such employers are provided with sums for wages and the contributions due on them by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for each person, for the period of training or apprenticeship, but for 6 months at the longest.
Specialized services for an independent business
Pursuant to art.47 of the EPA, unemployed persons entitled to monetary compensation or unemployment benefits, wishing, alone or together with others, to start a business for the production of goods and/or services, shall be provided, at the expense of the fund «Unemployment», with a lump sum, after the approval of a business plan by the divisions of the EA and based on a submitted application, which states the willingness of the unemployed person to receive a lump sum instead of monetary compensation or benefits following the order of MSSC (art.47, para 1). If the project provides employment to another unemployed family member, not entitled to compensation or unemployment benefits, on the basis of the plan pursuant to art. 30, para 4 and 5, additional sums (para 4) are also provided. Pursuant to art.48 of the EPA, persons who have received a lump sum pursuant to art.47 (1), may receive additional sums in the form of a credit for qualification in the business subject and/or its management under the approved project. According to art. 49 of the EPA, persons who have received a lump sum under art.47 (1) may be reimbursed for the expenditures on the used external consulting services under art.30, para 5.
Associations for employment and structural development
Associations for employment and structural development are created to provide employment to unemployed persons in municipalities with high unemploy-
ment, through the development and implementation of employment programs for rehabilitation, restructuring and preparation of sites for privatization and for implementation of activities for the public benefit. For each unemployed person hired under an employment contract, there is a transaction of sums for salary, additional remuneration in the minimum amounts established by the LC and the contributions due on these by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for a period no exceeding 24 months. There is an option for covering the cost of the acquisition of professional qualification of the unemployed hired in the company.
Program «Career Start»
The position of young people in the labor market is specific. After finishing their studies, they are included in the labor market and in most cases they have no professional experience in the acquired specialty. They often lack the necessary information and contacts for job placement. In many cases employers refuse to hire them because they do not have professional experience and therefore they lack the appropriate professional skills and the work habits required. At the same time such people have mastered the latest in the profession, but they can not implement it. These two features clearly stand out in the position of young graduates. Finding a suitable job is a key point in creating opportunities for young people to find their place in society, to achieve economic independence and to develop themselves. Society should offer opportunities for the realisation of young people in the labor market, for preventing long-term unemployment, mar-ginalization and social exclusion.
The main objective of the program is to provide opportunities for acquisition of professional experience for unemployed young people who have completed their secondary or university education, in order to facilitate the transition between education and employment.
The immediate objectives are:
- prevention of dequalification of young people;
- prevention of brain drain;
- providing opportunities for upgrading of the public administration;
- enabling subsequent employment of some of the youths in permanent employment;
- achievement of a flexible combination of knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the requirements of the market economy;
The program is implemented in two components:
Subject of Component 1 are young people under 29 years of age, without professional experience in their specialty, who have obtained university education (graduates) and are registered in LOD. Employers under Component 1 are public administrations.
Subject of Component 2 are young people under the age of 24 who have completed their vocational education in the last 24 months, without professional
experience in the profession for which they have acquired qualifications. These people are required to be registered in LOD.
Employers under Component 2 are employers in the private sector.
National program «Assistants for People with Disabilities»
In Bulgaria people with disabilities are subject to attitudes and practices inherited from the past, when most of them were isolated, protected and cared for by their families or the state.
Today the majority of them still continue to be isolated and unable to get out of their homes due to the inaccessible architectural environment and the lack of adequate services for social inclusion.
The high degree of their institutionalization results in a strong limitation of the opportunities for better education and inclusion in life, which in turns worsens the chances of disabled people for realization in the labor market and for participation in the economic, social and cultural life of society.
The main objective of the program is the provision of care (in a family environment) for people with permanent disabilities or seriously ill lonely people, by providing employment for unemployed persons as personal and social assistants.
- Activity «Personal Assistant» aims to provide employment to unemployed people in order to alleviate the situation of families in which there is a person with permanent disabilities who is in need of constant care.
- Activity «Social Assistant» aims at providing employment to unemployed people so that they can meet their daily needs; organizing leisure of people with permanent disabilities or seriously ill lonely people; carrying out activities for their social inclusion.
- Employment of unemployed persons as personal assistants for people with disabilities taken out of specialized institutions and placed in a family environment, for the provision of quality care and creating conditions for their social inclusion; provision of qualified assistance to these persons and their families through services provided under the activity «Social assistant».
- Immediate objectives of the program:
• provision of quality care in a family environment for seriously ill people and persons with disabilities and achievement of social adaptability within the existing disability;
• reduction in the number of disabled and seriously ill people accommodated in institutions;
• provision of full-time or part-time employment of the hired unemployed who are able to work. In case of failing to provide full-time employment for persons under the activity «Social assistant», they are employed part-time, but for no less than 4 hours per day;
• social insurance for the persons included in the program in the short term (social insurance and for NHIF) and in the longer term (pension insurance);
• training of people to care for the improvement of the living conditions and living environment of people with disabilities;
• reduction of the expenditure from the State budget on social assistance (incl. also municipal budgets);
• implementation of the principle of consistency in the actions of institutions: the territorial divisions of the Social Assistance Agency (SAA), the Employment Agency (EA), General Labor Inspectorate Executive Agency (GLIEA).;
• development of social partnership at all levels in the implementation of the program.
National program for employment and training of people with permanent disabilities
The changing socioeconomic environment in Bulgaria during the transition period had a significant impact on the social status of people with disabilities. The unemployment rate, the structural changes in the economy, the inaccessible architectural environment and other factors increased the social isolation of this group of people. The environmental limitations create greater barriers to social inclusion than the functional disabilities of people.
According to the UN Standard Rules, persons with disabilities have the right to live and to be realized in their own communities. They should receive the necessary assistance and support in their usual environment and in training institutions, health care, employment and social services. People with disabilities should be given the opportunity to exercise their human rights and in particular in the field of employment, they should be provided with equal opportunities for productive and profitable employment.
The main objective of the program is to increase the employability and the employment of unemployed people with permanent disabilities registered in LOD or people of working age, successfully completed a course of treatment for addiction to drugs, as a prerequisite for overcoming their social isolation and for the purpose of their full integration into society.
Its immediate objectives are:
- creating conditions for employment of the unemployed people with disabilities registered in LOD, subject to the program;
- increasing employability and earning of wages by providing training to the persons subject to the program;
- increasing the level of the public awareness of the problems and opportunities of the persons from the target groups of the program, in order to change the public attitudes and eliminate the existing stereotypes;
- encouraging employers to hire unemployed people participating in the program;
- development of partnerships at all levels upon the implementation of the program;
- creating conditions for dignified and independent life of the people participating in the program.
The persons participating in the program are unemployed of working age, with permanent disabilities, registered in LOD.
National program «Activation of inactive persons»
The main objective of this program is activation and inclusion of inactive and discouraged people in the labor market, through individual and group implementation of tools and services for attracting and motivating them to register in LOD, so that they can get entitled to inclusion in training and/or employment.
The immediate objectives of the program are the following:
- training for work with inactive people and inclusion of Roma mediators in employment;
- informing inactive and discouraged people about the services offered by labor offices, the rights and the obligations of unemployed and employed and motivating them to register in labor offices;
- informing and consultating inactive and discouraged people, willing to work, on the opportunities for employment;
- social integration of economically inactive people of working age and reducing the risk of poverty;
- conduction of information campaigns and informal seminars to promote active behavior in the labor market;
- implementation of specialized labor exchanges for meeting the labor demand on the part of employers and the labor supply on the part of the people willing to work;
- building local cooperation between all stakeholders in the labor market (labor offices, employers, NGOs, civil society, etc.) for the development of employment and the reduction of unemployment.
The program is implemented in accordance with the labor exchanges provided in the Action Plan of the Employment Agency and included in the National Employment Action Plan during the year.
Subjects of the program are inactive (persons who are not employed and not registered in LOD), discouraged persons (people who want to work and are available to start work but are not seeking work because they believe that they will not find) and registered unemployed persons identifying themselves as Roma (with a minimum of secondary education), appointed as Roma mediators in LOD under the program.
National program for literacy training and qualification of Roma
The objective of the program is to increase the employability of illiterate and low-literate unemployed people through their involvement in literacy courses and vocational training.
The immediate objectives of this program are:
- increasing the competitiveness of unemployed through their involvement in literacy training and training for literacy upgrading;
- upgrading the professional qualification of the unemployed;
- social motivation for the persons included in the program for active behavior in the labor market and efforts to enhance their knowledge and skills;
- improving the quality of the education in the literacy training of adults by applying developed specialized programs, teaching materials and teaching by teachers trained in andragogy;
- improving the cooperation between the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Employment Agency and non-governmental organizations working in the fields of education and training of people from disadvantaged groups.
Subjects of the program are illiterate or low-literate unemployed persons registered at LOD and defining themselves as Roma. With priority in the program are included illiterate or low-literate unemployed people under 29 years of age, registered at LOD. Included are also unemployed from other ethnic groups and nationalities, who are illiterate or low-literate.
The program is implemented in all municipalities in the country, as it is executed in two modules:
- Module «Literacy» - with unemployed persons registered at LOD and identifying themselves as illiterate or low-literate. Interviews are conducted with these people for their inclusion in the literacy training courses. LODs also organize and conduct group motivating for the unemployed persons under the program, for their inclusion in literacy courses and vocational training.
- Module «Professional qualification» - the activity of organizing and conducting vocational training of the involved unemployed persons is carried out in accordance with the Employment Promotion Act and its implementing rules. The persons who have successfully completed the courses within the module «Literacy» under VETA are involved in qualification training.
National program «Melpomene»
The National program «Melpomene» is an expression of the care that the state provides for the development of the Bulgarian culture. The implementation of the program aims at providing employment and reducing unemployment among cultural workers.
The main objective of the program is to increase employment by creating jobs so as to support the operation of the theaters and operas in Bulgaria.
The immediate objectives are:
- reduction of unemployment by creating jobs in the theaters and operas;
- supporting the functioning of the theaters and operas in Bulgaria;
- transfer of accumulated experience between generations and promoting the continuity for the preservation and development of cultural values.
Subjects of the program «Melpomene» are unemployed persons with particular expertise, professional qualifications, knowledge and skills in the field of theater and opera, registered at LOD.
Employers within the same program can be state and municipal theaters and operas, theatrical and musical producer centers with a status of state cultural institutions, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts and the Union of artists in Bulgaria.
National program «New Employment Opportunities»
Economic changes lead to the restructuring of sectors, industries and individual companies. This restructuring may be associated with both production growth and consequent transition to newer technologies and production and demand for personnel with specific qualification but also with contraction of sales, demand and production and corresponding dismissal of workforce.
After overcoming the economic difficulties, employers can hire workers with preserved work habits and improved skills.
The main objective of the program «New Employment Opportunities» is reducing unemployment and providing new employment to dismissed persons, registered at LOD, who have become unemployed due to the economic crisis and the production restructuring.
Its immediate objectives are:
- prevention of the stay in the labor market of persons dismissed as a result of the economic crisis, restructuring, starting of proceedings of bankruptcy or liquidation of enterprises, through the involvement of these persons in adult learning and employment, including starting of their own business;
- prevention of dequalification, loss of skills and work habits and increase of qualification by mastering a new profession and acquisition of key skills. Preserving and enhancing the competitiveness of the workforce;
- mitigating the negative effects for the dismissed workers and their families related to the reduction of their income and the deteriorating of their living standards.
Subjects of the program are persons registered at LOD and unemployed, dismissed pursuant to art.328, para 1, items 1, 2, 3, 4; art. 327, items 1, 2, 3 and/or art. 331 of the Labor Code of 1.11.2008, as a result of the economic crisis
in the country and/or restructuring, starting of proceedings of bankruptcy or liquidation of enterprises and related industries.
Employers under the program may be all employers in the country, the persons subject to the program are directed with advantage to employers who have not carried out mass dismissals in the last 12 months. The persons participating in the program are not directed to jobs at their last employer, as well as to related undertakings as defined in the Small and Medium Enterprises Act.
Program «Aesculapius»
Priority of the state policy in the field of healthcare is to provide quality service in the medical and health institutions and to achieve the optimal number and proportion of medical professionals serving the patient.
The health care reform aims to improve the quality of the health services provided to the population and to improve the working conditions of health workers.
The objectives of the program are to increase employment by involving unemployed persons in training and employment at state and municipal hospitals for the purpose of meeting the requirements of providing quality medical care.
Specific objectives:
- reduction of unemployment by inclusion of unemployed persons in training and employment at state and municipal hospitals; encouraging medical specialists to make their professional realisation in Bulgaria;
- providing employment to unemployed people with medical and non-medical education in state and municipal hospitals;
- providing quality and affordable health care services for the population.
The main activities under the program include:
- conduction of an information and awareness campaign to make people familiar with the goals, tasks, content and expected results of the program;
- identification of the needs for job creation in state and municipal hospitals;
- identification and recruitment of unemployed persons under the program;
- identification of the needs of training;
- organization and conduction of training of unemployed persons with a duration of up to 1 month, in accordance with the identified needs for filling the vacancies under the program.
- directing unemployed persons for employment in accordance with the requirements of the employer for the vacancy;
- for the jobs opened under the program, the employers provide employment under an employment contract for a period not exceeding 24 months. It is possible that the people are employed for a trial period, according to the provisions of the Labor Code.
Project «This is my chance to find myself»
Dropping out of school is one of the serious challenges that have a negative impact on the development of the labor market. Early school leaving and not coming back in the system of education and training leads to the formation of workforce with low employability and competitiveness in the labor market and limits the opportunities for these people to find quality employment.
The reasons for school leaving are different, with the largest and increasing proportion of leavers being the ones for family reasons - 51.5 % of all leavers. Large is also the proportion of leavers who are reluctant to attend school - 44.7 % and due to departure abroad - 1.8 %. Although these are children who have not completely left the education system, i.e. in the coming years they may continue their education in the same or another school, it is worrying that 48 % of the respondents - children aged 12-16 do not want to go back into school.
In order to reduce early school leaving in Bulgaria, activities are implemented for limiting the impact of the main factors behind early school leaving.
The general objective of the project is to increase the competitiveness in the labor market of registered unemployed young people under 29 years of age, dropped out of school, and unemployed persons who have been granted refugee or humanitarian status, through the acquisition of skills in various professions / crafts through training at the workplace under the guidance of a mentor / master.
Specific objectives:
- orientation of unemployed persons about the requested jobs in the region and about the opportunities for their performance;
- developing motivation for building specific work skills;
- formation of work habits through an individual approach to every unemployed person involved in the project;
- transfer of the experience of mentors/masters to the beginner workers (apprentices).
The target group comprises 300 people: unemployed young people, school dropouts and unemployed persons who have been granted refugee or humanitarian status, registered at LODs throughout the country and having primary or lower education.
Project «Realization»
In the recent years one can witness a sustainable uneven distribution of unemployment by socio-demographic groups. Permanently affected by unemployment are the groups of young people, people with primary or lower education, Roma, persons with reduced ability to work and in some periods - women and people over 50 years. The ongoing trend of reduction in the volume of the workforce and its aging, the allowance of discouragement among young generations, pushing them to the informal sector or to emigration, will result in the loss of human resources - something that the country can not afford.
The general objective of the project is to improve the adaptability and to increase the employability of unemployed persons from vulnerable groups in the labor market, through the implementation of a set of measures corresponding to their specific needs.
Specific objectives:
- motivating and encouraging the beneficiaries from the target group to take active steps to getting a job;
- counseling, evaluation of the opportunities, motivation and training of the representatives of the target group in accordance with the needs of potential employers;
- inclusion in employment (employment, self-employment or internship) of at least 30 % of the beneficiaries who have successfully completed the three stages of training - motivational, for the acquisition of digital competence and as part of a profession.
The target group comprises 730 unemployed persons with secondary and university education, registered at LOD in the districts of Varna, Plovdiv, Ruse and Sofia-city. The beneficiaries of the project are divided into groups consisting of about 20 persons each, as the priority is set on:
- young people up to 29 years of age;
- unemployed women;
- inactive and discouraged people.
Measures to support employment are implemented and are aimed at unemployed people by areas as follows:
- Varna Disctrict - 125 beneficiaries;
- Plovdiv District - 180 beneficiaries;
- Ruse District - 125 beneficiaries;
- Sofia-city District - 300 beneficiaries.
National program «Interest free credit for people with disabilities»
A major factor for the full participation of every person in public life is his/her labor activity. People with permanently reduced ability to work are among the disadvantaged groups in the labor market.
The employment policy is primarily focused on the socioeconomic integration of people with reduced ability to work, allowing their more rapid economic and social integration. The aim of the program is to provide employment, equality and creation of conditions for persons with disabilities so that they can lead a fulfilled life and get employment.
Immediate objectives of the program:
- formation of an entrepreneurial mindset and support for the socioeconomic integration of the targeted group;
- creation of conditions for development of own business for credit borrowers under the project «Guarantee Fund for Microcrediting»;
- stimulation of self-employment and creation of new permanent jobs.
The objective of the program is the reimbursement of the interest on loans for people with disabilities.
Encouraging employers to hire unemployed for part-time employment
With the entry into force of the EPA, the National Program «Flexible forms of employment» was transformed into an employment measure. Pursuant to art.43 of the EPA, an employer who hires under an employment contract (for less than half of the statutory time) an unemployed directed by the divisions of the EA, shall be provided (on a contract basis pursuant to art. 30, para 6) with sums amounting to the minimum wage established for the country and the contributions due on these by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for every person for the time of his/her employment (para 1).
According to the condition for employment, the person shall be registered unemployed, who has received unemployment benefits for 5 months at the longest (para 2). The employer can hire (under an employment contract, for a period of no less than eight months) two people, directed by the divisions of the EA, at one job, provided that the average number of the personnel on the payroll becomes increased (para 3). The employers who continue the employment relations with the persons under para 1 after the expiry of the eight month period, for no less than six more months, shall be reimbursed with 6 monthly contributions paid by the employer to the SSF and NHIF (para 4). If necessary, within the framework of the part-time job, the employer is entitled to carry out training for the acquisition of professional qualification by designating the training organization or by performing the training alone within the maximum amount of funds determined for the training of one person (para 5).
Under the terms of art.51 of the EPA, employers who hire for part-time employment, for at least three months, unemployed directed by the divisions of EA, based on a contract pursuant to art. 30, para 6 shall receive sums for salaries and the contributions due on these by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for every person for the period of his / her employment, but for no more than nine months.
Increasing employment through the encouraging of the first five employees
Pursuant to art.50 of the EPA, employers microenterprises, registered under the current legislation, are reimbursed with twelve monthly installments for the SSF for the first five hired unemployed persons, directed by the divisions of the EA, employed full-time under an employment contract, provided that the employer retains their jobs for a period of twenty-four months.
Program «Quick Start»
Program «Quick Start» was launched in 1997 with the support of the Department of Labor of the USA, the Agency for International Development of the United States and the Program for regional economic development and effective management «PLEDGE». The aim of the program is to provide high quality
training for a particular job for persons working in newly established, expanding or restructuring companies. The methodology includes preparation of an analysis of the specific workplace, a detailed training plan and a curriculum to meet the specific needs of the company.
Professional qualification of unemployed persons
Training for acquiring professional qualification of adults organized by the EA is carried out pursuant to art.58 - art.66 of the EPA. According to them the qualification training of unemployed and employed is organized in compliance with the needs of the labor market, the requirements of employers and a plan annually approved by the MLSP.
Maintaining the qualification of employed workforce and its upgrading
The measure pursuant to art.44 of the EPA is designed for employers who provide maintenance of the qualification of the employees and training for them. They can apply for the provision of sums on a contract basis pursuant to art.30, para 6, but not more than half of the maximum appointed amount for training per person.
Opening of special jobs for acquiring qualification through internship and /or apprenticeship
The measure pursuant to art.46 of the EPA is intended for employers opening special jobs for acquiring qualification through internship and/or apprenticeship, including for young people who have dropped out of the secondary education system. On a contract basis, pursuant to art.30, para 6, sums are provided to the employers for each accepted person for the period of internship and/or apprenticeship, but for no more than six months.
Encouraging employers to hire persons with permanently reduced ability to work
Pusuant to art.52 of the EPA, employers who hire, for a period of no less than twelve months, unemployed with permanently reduced ability to work, directed by the divisions of the Employment Agency, (on the basis of the contract pursuant to art.30, para 6) shall be provided with the sums for remuneration and the contributions due by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for every person, for the period of his/her employment, but for no more than twelve months.
The same preferences are used by employers who hire, for temporary, seasonal or part-time job, unemployed people with permanently reduced ability to work, as they are provided for the period of the employment of the person, but for no more than six months.
Encouraging employers to hire single mothers (adopters) and mothers with children up to three years of age
Pursuant to art.53 of the EPA, employers who hire (under an employment contract for a period of twelve months) registered unemployed women-single
mothers (adopters) and/or mothers of children under three years of age, directed by the divisions of the EA, (based on a contract pursuant to art. 30, para 6) shall be provided with the sums for salary and the contributions due by the employer to the SSF and NHIF, for each employed person, for the term of the contract.
Encouraging employers to hire persons who have served punishment « deprivation of liberty»
Since 1996 there has been an agreement between the MLSP and the MJ to support the resocialisation of the Bulgarian citizens freed from the places of detention. This is the basis for carrying out the overall activity of servicing of this category of customers in the system of the EA, aiming at their timely socialisation and work engagement. For the former offenders who have been subject to the measure «deprivation of liberty», the new EPA provides a special employment measure giving preferences to employers in the employment of persons from this risk group. Pursuant to art.55 of the EPA, employers who hire in full-time employment, for a period of no less than twelve months, unemployed undergone punishment «deprivation of liberty» and directed by the divisions of the EA, (based on a contract pursuant to art. 30, para 6) shall be provided with the sums for remuneration and the contributions due by the employer to the SSF and NHIF for every person for the employment period but for no more than six months.
National program for increasing employment by opening jobs in activities for overcoming the consequences offorest fires
The National program for increasing employment through the opening of jobs in activities for overcoming the consequences of forest fires was adopted by Decision №825 of 12 August 2000. The operational management is performed by the National group for program management. Immediate executors are the State Forestries and labor offices, with close cooperation with the Regional Employment Services, the Regional Forestry Board and the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water.
Program for literacy training, qualification and employment
The program for literacy training, qualification and employment is developed and implemented by the EA jointly with municipal administrations, the Ministry of Education and Science and representative organizations of employers and employees and it is approved by the MLSP. It is aimed at certain particularly vulnerable groups of unemployed persons from ethnically mixed regions and its purpose is to increase the competitiveness and the chances of finding a job through education and training, as well as to provide employment to persons from these groups.
The program consists of three modules:
1. Litaracy training - includes the organizing of literacy courses with a duration of maximum five months and the opportunity to receive cash assistance for the period of the course, at the amount of 40 % of the minimum wage.
2. Professional qualification - training for acquiring professional qualification.
3. Employment - by inclusion in various forms of employment.
Reduction of the unemployment rate in municipalities by providing temporary and alternate work to people from the restructuring productions and activities and by assisting local authorities in building insulation, restructuring, preparation of sites for privatization and within the implementation of projects in activities of general public interest:
- encouraging the unemployed to start their own business;
- measures for employment transition in cases of mass dismissal of workforce;
- linking the lump-sum benefits received under the Decree № 100 of the Council of Ministers with conditions for vocational training and employment (part of the sums are taken upon the enrollment in a vocational training course, upon the signing of a contract with an employer or upon starting a small business).
The priorities of regional employment policies are consistent with the National Employment Action Plan and the changes in the economic and social environment, as they are specific and dependent on local labor markets.
In connection with the implementation of the state policy on employment and the regulated procedures in the EPA, Regional employment commissions are created at the Regional development councils as a regional employment authority on the basis of the legal norm established in art.9, para 1 and 2 of the act and with specified functions pursuant to art. 9, para 1 and 2 of its implementing rules.
Regional employment authorities (Regional Employment Committees) use the current good practice and the accumulated experience from the operation of regional or district employment councils. Their structure has already been precisely and clearly defined.
Regional Employment Committees have the difficult task to assist the regional governor in determining, organizing and controlling the implementation of the state policy on employment and training for acquiring professional qualification at regional level.
There is a need for actions on prioritization and defining the effective, efficient interaction for implementing this policy at regional level.
Based on expert analysis and a study conducted by regional employment authorities, one may present the main and immediate objectives, as well as the measures to be implemented in the labor market.
The main objective of the regional policy for the development of human resources and the labor market is to establish conditions for the creation of a competitive labor market, meeting the vital needs of jobs and training for inclusion in the unified European labor market.
In light of this objective, the regional priorities of the employment policy are:
- closer linking of the actions on employment and vocational training of the workforce to the specific needs of the regional economy and the individual business agents;
- promotion of entrepreneurship and self-employment of appropriate categories of unemployed, including from disadvantaged groups, in the regional labor market;
- support for local initiatives for accomplishing the socioeconomic integration of vulnerable groups in the labor market.
Immediate objectives:
1. First immediate objective:
- Initiation of a program and projects, providing a transition to subsequent sustainable employment and gradual reduction of the proportion of subsidized employment.
Subobjectives:
- Improving the employability of the workforce. Measures:
• Promoting initiatives (projects) for employment and training of young people, especially in the municipalities with the highest proportion of youth unemployment.
• Reduction of the proportion of the long-term unemployed in the municipalities, where it is the highest, through appropriate programs, projects and vocational training measures.
• Development of the workforce (employed and unemployed) by acquisition of qualification and qualification upgrading and/or by gaining professional experience, with the active cooperation of employers and trade unions, universities and other educational organizations.
• Facilitating the transition from school to work through initiatives for early selection and professional guidance of learners and students with the active involvement of employers in the region.
- Entrepreneurship development. Measures:
• Expanding the volume of information and consulting services for people who have started their own business.
• Enhancing the management skills and the permanent qualification of company staff.
- Encouraging the adaptability of the business and the employed in it. Measures:
• Study and analysis of the qualification needs of the leading companies in the region and the expectations for establishment of new industries and jobs for the year and subsequent periods.
• Provision of the information from the study results to intermediaries in the labor market.
- Reinforcement of the equal opportunities policy Measures:
• Collection and analysis of information about discriminatory acts in the regional labor market.
• Initiating projects to promote employment of women, especially in municipalities with impaired demographic gender balance.
2. Second immediate objective:
- Creation of conditions for equal access of disadvantaged groups to the labor market.
Subobjective:
- Initiation of specific programs and projects for training and employment of unemployed from different ethnic groups and other vulnerable groups in the labor market.
Measures:
• Expansion of the services offered by the centers for development of opportunities to persons with disabilities.
• Training and exchange of practices for promoters of projects for training and employment of persons with disabilities.
3. Third immediate objective:
- Increasing the competence of the Employment Committees at the District councils for regional development and of the project promoters.
Subobjective:
- Continuous training and self-study on the regulations relating to the problems of employment and unemployment (EPA, NAPE, etc.), the documents and the initiatives of the EU.
Measures:
• Conducting thematic workshops with experts from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Employment Agency.
• Increasing the knowledge and the practical skills redarding the development and management of projects on employment and vocational training.
• Development of a regional center for study of the labor market.
The national social policy regarding unemployment and employment would have a qualitative progress upon the implementation of good coordination and active cooperation of the social partners in regional employment bodies. At a lower level this shall be done by the Cooperation Councils, established at the regional directorates of the Employment Agency.
Conclusion [14-22]
The impact of the state policy on economic and social development in a market economy is different and is principally determined by the type of the market economy, its state and the employment of the population. In a social market
economy, with high unemployment and inflation, the state intervention in economic development and in particular in employment is more significant. The intervention mainly affects the promotion of employment or the limitation of the dismissal of certain categories of the population, the determination of the minimum wage and some supplements to it, working conditions, wage fund, help for unemployed to return to work and more.
The goals and tasks defined in the examined programs correspond to the social need of the implemented policies on unemployment and employment, which are subject of intense discussion in society. At the same time, they are measurable and objective with a view to the theoretical foundation gained in recent years in the field of economic theory, related to the labor market, as well as the accumulated statistics. There is a need to systematize, propose and implement economic approaches and methods which to adequately assess the effects of the impact of the policies, programs and measures implemented on the labor market where they would be useful.
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