Refugees - a small but important part of job seekers in Bulgaria

New electronic platform connects asylum seekers in Bulgaria with ‎their future employers

published on 4/29/24 10:44 AM

Photo: pixabay

There is a Directive according to which third-country nationals who have been ‎granted humanitarian or refugee status in Bulgaria (or in the EU territory) ‎can be employed without any other permits. Only with this status document ‎obtained from the Ministry of the Interior, can these persons start working on ‎equal terms with Bulgarian citizens. The statistics for last year provide us with telling ‎data - the number of Ukrainian citizens granted temporary protection in Bulgaria alone was 176,000. By the end of February 2024, only 63,000 of ‎them will have remained permanently on the territory of Bulgaria because ‎with their temporary protection document they can live in any EU Member ‎State. ‎

Is Bulgaria attractive to people forced to leave their homes and who bring ‎valuable skills, talents and experience to the foreign communities where they ‎have found refuge? In search of an answer, Bulgaria has recently launched ‎the first-of-its-kind platform for mediation between refugees, job ‎seekers and employers in Bulgaria. Information there is provided in English, French, ‎Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic and other rarer languages, and assistance is ‎provided by the Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR), in partnership with ‎the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. ‎

The platform has been operational for almost two months now and for this period ‎‎429 people have registered to find a job in Bulgaria. However, the number of ‎job offers is not large yet. Only 18 new employers have advertised their ‎vacancies - 32 in number. However, the number of signed contracts is close to ‎‎10, and for each the process is long and with various administrative hurdles.‎

The main areas for which migrants are sought for staff are construction, hotels, ‎restaurants and various types of manufacturing. There are recruitment ads for ‎humanitarian work, security, and fast food. ‎It appears that it is also difficult to find workers for low-skilled jobs among ‎migrants. Of those registered on the platform, the largest share of candidates is of those with higher education - 54%. Those with secondary or vocational education ‎account for 31% of job seekers. "Those who stated that they are looking for a job with a ‎lower degree are 9%, but these are people who studied in their home country, ‎failed to graduate and had to move to our country," explains Maria Netsova ‎from the Foundation for Access to Rights and coordinator of the platform.‎

‎"The countries of origin of those seeking work through us are mainly Ukraine, ‎Syria and Afghanistan," she explains in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. "30% are from Ukraine, 22% from Syria, 17% from Afghanistan, or 70% of all ‎applications received on the platform so far are from these countries. From ‎other countries there are citizens of Iran, Gaza, Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, India, ‎Nepal, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, etc. 81% of job seekers are between 18 ‎and 50 years old, i.e. of working age, and half of them are between 18 and 29 ‎years old. Many of them are students who wish to continue their education in ‎Bulgaria in order to find a job after graduation. Few of them are economic ‎migrants, most of them declared that they have permanent resident status in ‎Bulgaria or that they are asylum seekers. With us they have declared their ‎intention to settle in Bulgaria and want to find a job. ‎

Many of them say that it does not even matter in which city they will live, and ‎that they would work for anything - their only wish is to be helped to find a ‎job and settle in the country. Recently, even one of the applications explicitly ‎said, "I love Bulgaria and I want to stay in this country!"‎

Work permits for foreigners in Bulgaria outside the Blue Card

It is noteworthy that most of the migrants arriving here speak several languages ‎‎- English, Turkish, besides other rarer languages. This would help them to find ‎jobs more easily in more economic activities. "For now, however, there ‎appears to be an imbalance between job seekers and employers' offers," says ‎Maria Netsova.‎

‎"The main questions employers are interested in are what are the ways to ‎employ migrants, whether these people know Bulgarian, what professional ‎experience they have. Otherwise, at least those who have contacted us want to ‎hire foreigners and are trying to indicate assistance. But the process of signing a ‎contract is long, it is necessary to issue documents, medical certificates, as ‎well as a medical book for starting a job in catering establishments. ‎NGOs, which act as mediators, help a lot in this respect", explains Maria Nestova.

Apart from the ‎language barrier, the lack of permanent housing and the issuance of an identity ‎card and the opening of a bank account is also a major problem for employers, she explains.

"We also come across people who are Bessarabian Bulgarians or people from mixed ‎marriages who are able to speak our language but cannot write or read in ‎Bulgarian. At the moment, we are organising courses aimed only at people ‎with a temporary protection status who have been granted international protection and ‎asylum seekers", the expert from FAR concludes.

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