Bulgaria saw increasing numbers of third-country nationals seeking vocational guidance services in in 2022. This trend may be attributed to the military conflict in Ukraine. In the same year, the Centres for Information and Vocational Guidance (CIVGs) received 89 service requests from third-country nationals (the majority from neighbouring countries of Ukraine and the Russian Federation in general). In 2021, the number of requests did not exceed 10.
Facts on vocational guidance for third-country nationals
In 2022, Bulgaria saw an interesting trend regarding requests from third-country nationals. The CIVGs registered an increased demand for consultations and vocational guidance – the number of services requested by persons from third countries increased from 10 in 2021 to 89 people in 2022. This increase is most likely directly related to the migrant flow to Bulgaria following the military conflict in Ukraine. Despite claims that Bulgaria is more of a transit country for these citizens, many chose to stay and work there.
Arriving migrants, in addition to benefitting from basic conditions for settling in Bulgaria, also need professional screening of their knowledge, skills and attitudes to start working. In this way, conditions are created not only for suitable employment campaigns, but also for more sustainable long-term employment.
These services are provided by the CIVGs, licensed by the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (NAVET), which provide information, consultation and advice to students and adults in order to help them make the best choices about their future professional and career development. Services of professional guidance, psychological support, labour counselling and motivation offered by the Centres support the overall process of integration of migrants, and boost the positive effects for employers, as well as for the country’s economic life as a whole.
Training for third country nationals
In connection with this trend, there was also a rise in the vocational training courses delivered to persons from third countries in 2022. In particular, training courses were delivered to 117 persons from Ukraine, 23 from Moldova, 16 from Kyrgyzstan,18 from Uzbekistan and 55 from the Russian Federation itself. It seems that workers from Russia's neighbouring countries who had until very recently worked on Russian territory – prompted by the economic situation in their own country and the effects of the military conflict in Ukraine – are now turning to Bulgaria as a nearby country to look for new employment. Most of these training programmes were delivered for partial qualifications (part of professions), particularly for qualifications at EQF/NQF level 3, such as shop assistant, hairdresser, beautician, or manicurist-pedicurist. This choice shows this group of migrants seeking and finding employment primarily in the service sector, which is aligned with the basic needs of the country’s labour market needs.
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Centres for Information and Vocational Guidance (CIVGs)
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Please cite this news item as: ReferNet Bulgaria; Cedefop (2023). Bulgaria: vocational guidance and training services for third-country nationals. National news on VET |