Bulgarians' digital skills are weak and lagging behind digitalisation, Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivanka Shalapatova said at the opening of a national conference "Digital Skills for the Digital Decade" in Sofia. 

Bulgaria ranks second to last in the EU on this indicator. Yet in the next decade, 90% of jobs in the country will require at least intermediate skills in digital technologies, and currently only 7% of small and medium-sized enterprises provide training. The government intends to launch a major training initiative with funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

More than €500 million will be invested to improve the digital skills of at least 660,000 people by 2027, Shalapatova said. There are plans to open 760 free digital clubs for the elderly and unemployed, she added.