Expectations of an economic crisis in the coming two years are unfounded. A growth of the economy, though slower, is registered in Bulgaria, as well as in Europe and the US. But even if there were to be another crisis it would open up interesting investment opportunities. This is the optimistic forecast made by leading economists and analysts who took part in the Sound of Money forum.

Still, Bulgarian business is facing a crucial challenge – labour shortages, both highly qualified staff and medium and low skilled workers. Employer organizations have been insisting on there being a strong bond between economy and education. Knowledge of the key skills needed in the 21^st century would turn education in a direction that would benefit businesses, but also the future players on the labour market.

At this point one of the preventive measures to keep good employees is for employers to show them respect, to demonstrate that the results of their work are visible and are helping the company they work for develop. In the words of Steffy Andreeva, head of the transport and logistics department of the shared services centre of an American grain purchase and sale company, good employees want a positive atmosphere and a tight-knit team that would afford them the opportunity of being useful with whatever they can. She adds that employers must realize that though a given employee may be happy with the position they now occupy, years from now or less, that might change as people’s interests change. That is why staff must be encouraged and their skills developed.

During the discussions at the Sound of Money forum particular attention was given to how crucial it is to speak foreign languages for finding a well-paid job. Donika Luleva who teaches Chinese says that knowledge of any language is a treasure but that English is something no one can afford to do without nowadays. There are very few people who speak Eastern languages, she says, yet the importance of these countries to the economy and to businesses will grow.

A key factor for the development of children from an early age is their wanting to move forward, but how the family will encourage them is also very important. The man who created the popular video lessons platform Darin Madzharov says he has never confined himself to the things he has been taught at school, that he has always endeavoured to find something extra and has taken part in many competitions. But all the time he has had the support of his family. Darin adds that though he was educated abroad he always wanted to return home and apply what he has learnt here.

“To my mind there is nothing more important than education because I want to live among as many happy people as possible here, in Bulgaria,” he said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria. “And what makes people happy is achieving the successes they have aspired to in their own way. But there is only one way to do this – one must have the required skills and they are acquired through education.”

Madzharov says that the idea for online lessons came to him while he was doing a PhD in Belgium. At that time his sister rang him up often so he could explain to her different things from mathematics and physics. There came a time when the same questions started cropping up over and over again and he realized his sister was apt to forget the things he had already explained to her. So, he decided to video these sessions so she could watch them whenever she wanted to. But soon he started getting messages from classmates of hers who were thanking him for having explained their lessons to them in a way they could understand. Darin realized that what he was doing was really helpful and when he returned to Bulgaria he started his own company which now employs more than 130 people, people who have created over 14,000 videos with lessons and tests in all 1^st to 12^th grade subjects. This successful idea is an example of the key role education plays in the development of the future generation of successful and talented Bulgarians, the people set to change the negative tendencies on the labour market we are seeing today.

English version: Milena Daynova