site.bta Labour Ministry Implements Large-scale Investment in Digital Skills

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) is implementing a large-scale investment of BGN 379.5 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which is entirely aimed at providing digital skills training, Social Minister Ivanka Shalapatova said at the opening of a national conference "Digital Skills for the Digital Decade" in Sofia Thursday.

By mid-2026, some 500,000 unemployed and employed people will be trained in basic and intermediate digital skills, Shalapatova said. She specified that 100,000 people who have acquired digital skills on their own will be given the opportunity to take an exam to certify them. 

The Minister of Labour and Social Policy pointed out that her ministry is organising the event in the framework of the European Year of Skills and in its capacity as the national coordinator of its activities in Bulgaria. According to the Minister, researchers, policy makers, and experts agree that digital skills are a key factor for employability.

The processes associated with the digital transition make it necessary for people to change their jobs more frequently in the future, Shalapatova further noted. This implies constantly retraining these people, she added.

An ambitious national target of 35.4% of the population to participate in training every year by 2030 is set, and this is the population in the most active working age - 25-64. In the period 2023-2027 more than BGN 1 billion will be invested to finance various training opportunities for the workforce with a focus specifically on enhancing digital skills, the Minister said. 

At least 660,000 people of working age are expected to be trained in digital skills by 2027. This will be done with funding from the Recovery Plan, the European Social Fund, and through the OP Human Resources Development.

Acquiring and improving digital skills is more than necessary for today's labour market, Minister Shalapatova said.