Everyone who wishes to legalize and receive a certificate for acquired skills and competence away from the educational system can do so now in Bulgaria as well. Currently, the most preferred certificates are in the tourism and service sectors. So far certificates have been issued for 60 different professions, most of them in professional cookery and hairdressing, auto mechanics, for electricians and computer administrators. This opportunity opens under the project entitled New Opportunity for My Future launched by the Ministry of Education and Science. The project is financed under the Human Resources Development Operational Programme and is to the tune of nearly EUR 3 million. It aims at creating and testing a system for recognition of informally and privately acquired knowledge, skills and competence. What are the results of the project so far? A total of 42 training programs were developed. Over 1,000 consultants and examiners were trained under this project. Moreover, some 10,000 people were informed about the opportunities to validate their knowledge acquired in the working process. Some 979 trainees already received their certificates. People who decide to obtain a document for professional qualification are mainly driven by their will to find a job more easily, or strengthen their positions at their current position through boosting their qualification and skills. Usually these are men and women aged between 35 and 44 with a high-school degree. It is also interesting to note that 60% of all applicants already have jobs and are not forced to join such courses.

“The validation of people’s knowledge boosts their motivation and makes them improve their qualification. It also helps labor mobility and assists local employers during job interviews", says the head of the project and Chair of the Management Board of the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training Emilyana Dimitrova. “It also guarantees higher impartiality during the evaluation of the personnel and better efficiency of the systems of differentiated remuneration. Thus, due to additional training, people spend less time and financial resource to acquire a given professional qualification.”

The acquisition of a document for acquired knowledge in the working process will boost the life standard of the trainees and reduce the level of the shadow economy, contends Emil Dimitrov from the Podkrepa Labor Confederation. The labor union and some employers’ organizations are partners under this project.

“On one hand, this project enables the unemployed, most of whom are permanently jobless, to avoid the long training courses for acquiring a qualification degree in a given profession, on condition that they work in this field anyway. These people can join the labor market easier. Based on the information about the available job positions and judging on the level of their skills and knowledge, they can receive a certificate and make a better career. Moreover, it saves lots of money to the state and to the taxpayers, too.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov