site.bta22 Per Cent of Young People in Bulgaria Not in Education, Employment, or Training

22 Per Cent of Young People in Bulgaria Not in Education, Employment, or Training

Sofia, May 19 (BTA) - Young people in Bulgaria between 15 and 24
years of age who are not in education, employment, or training
(NEET) account for 22 per cent of all the youth in the country -
the highest percentage in the EU, according to a UNICEF survey
presented Tuesday at a forum in Sofia on youth employment. The
poll was conducted between September 1-17, 2014.

The economy loses about 2,000 million leva annually from the
problem, while the damage in terms of human potential is even
bigger, the pollsters conclude. The poll found that NEETs in
school age are a little under 11 per cent, while their shares
among elder youths is 28 per cent.

Data from the last census show that 1.2 per cent of the
Bulgarian population above 7 years of age have never attended
school. Forty-seven per cent of NEETs have dropped out of school
before finishing secondary education, one in four left school
before finishing primary education.

NEETs with secondary school diplomas account for 48 per cent of
all youths.

Unemployed young men and women are almost equal, 52 per cent and
48 per cent respectively. Nearly 51 per cent of NEETs are Roma
or Turks. Sixty-three per cent of NEETs live in villages or
small towns.

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Bulgarian Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Kalfin has
been named ambassador of the eSkills for Jobs 2015-2016
initiative of the European Commission, Kalfin's Ministry said.
eSkills for Jobs, part of the EU eSkills strategy, is a major
cross sector, multi-stakeholder campaign from the European
Commission, involving more than 650 organizations across Europe
including companies, associations, education and training bodies
and NGOs. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the
need for citizens to improve their command of information and
communication technology skills for work. In Bulgaria the
campaign is implemented by the Bulgarian Association for IT and
has more than 20 "ambassadors", among them the Presidency, the
Science and Education Ministry, universities, on-line teaching
platforms, and software companies.