site.btaIndian-Bulgarian Business Chamber Chairman: Bulgaria Urgently Needs Agreement with India as Biggest Workforce Exporter

In the next three to five years, Bulgaria will experience a shortage of more than 250,000 qualified specialists with higher education in Bulgaria, which will threaten the development of the country's economy. At the same time, Bulgaria is now in its eighth year of missing the opportunity, which a number of EU countries have taken advantage of, to conclude an agreement with the largest exporter of human resources: India. Similar agreements could be concluded with other third countries, Dr Petar Velev, Chairman of the Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber, said in a BTA interview.

The agreement in question is a framework document that sets out all the main points on migration and mobility related to the issuance of a work visa, according to the qualifications and specific jobs sought in the country. Velev gave the example of Germany, which has set the condition that the relevant candidates for work in the country must be trained in their home country beforehand and have basic skills for the job. For its part, India wants to ensure that there will be no irregular migration. If someone does not abide by the law in the country where they are accepted to work, the Indian authorities have an obligation to send the worker back to their home country, Velev said. 

He pointed out that at the moment, there are sporadic cases of Indian workers who have chosen Bulgaria for the development of their professional career, and this country is one of the big exporters, for example of construction workers to the Middle East countries.

EU's Common Agenda for Migration and Mobility

On  March 29, 2016, the European Union and India signed a Joint Declaration on the Common Agenda for Migration and Mobility, which sets a clear legal framework for the movement of skilled workforce. All major European economies - Germany, France, Austria - have signed bilateral agreements with India. "Bulgaria, unfortunately, has not yet done so and we as an organization would like to make the institutions aware so that through the prism of the needs of the leading sectors of our economy, they can take a decision and our country can sign such an agreement," said Velev.

He ruled out the possibility of wage dumping or possible confrontation of the Bulgarian labour market with workers from third countries. There is simply an acute shortage and this needs to be understood, he said.

According to him, an in-depth analysis of the picture of the labour shortage in Bulgaria is needed by the institutions with the participation of representatives of the different sectors of Bulgarian economy. The specifics of the wages in the respective industries should also be taken into account, because the IT industry in Bulgaria, which has the potential to grow even more, cannot be expected to attract personnel with wages lower than what a qualified IT developer gets in India, Velev said.

On May 27, the Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry are organizing a roundtable discussion on untapped opportunities for importing workforce. Invited to attend are representatives of different sectors, such as tourism, IT industry, carriers. "Our aim is to bring them together so that the institutions can listen to their needs," the Velev explained.

Statistics

Burgas Region tops the list for the need for workforce: 27,400 employees are needed there, Velev said. Sofia needs 26,700 workers, Varna 25,800, Plovdiv 18,900. Having these employees, the regions will automatically generate revenue, gross product will be created, there will be development of the respective regions and thus of Bulgaria as a whole, Velev noted.

The country's 83,000 people are not enough for the industry. Trade, transport, hotels and restaurants require 67,000 workers. This means a deficit of 31% and 25%, respectively, Velev said. Construction needs 38,000 workers, or a deficit of 14%, agriculture is short 13,400 workers, which equals a shortage of 5%. Velev has a pharmaceutical production in Botevgrad, which is also experiencing a hunger for staff. "We are chronically short of 25 employees, not thousands, but filling this deficit would give us the opportunity to increase the capacity of production," Velev explained, pointing out that unemployment rate in Botevgrad has been zero for the past 20 years.

Is Bulgaria attractive for job seekers from third countries

According to the chairman of the Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber, Bulgaria's opportunities as a good place to work are extremely underestimated, while here, for example, highly qualified people from Italy find jobs. Velev believes that specialists from India are interested in Bulgaria's labour market in most of the sectors experiencing a shortage of personnel, because its economy currently has a good starting base, despite the stagnation and global geopolitical problems. Many of the industries in Bulgaria also offer additional bonuses to the workers and an example of this is the construction industry. Almost all large construction companies have dormitories and can provide an adequate and quality living environment, Velev said, citing data from the leadership of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber. The picture is similar with large industries in Bulgaria.

According to Velev, there will be a lot of interest from India to export personnel to Bulgaria. This is the country with one of the youngest populations in the world and the youngest segment of workers under 35. That is, 65% cent of India's population is aged under 35 and there is a surplus of skilled workforce at a young age.

Is it easy to recruit staff from third countries

"Since we are trying to attract the institutions' attention to the issue of hiring staff from third countries, it means that this problem in Bulgaria has not been solved," Velev told BTA. The main difficulty is related to the slow issuance of work visas, and this process should be formulated in the future bilateral agreement: to whom and under what conditions and terms a work visa is granted and for what period of time. "It does not require a law, but we are talking about an agreement that is not very complicated and does not have a political flavour, because I do not see who would have an interest in Bulgaria not developing," said Velev.

The Indian worker's profile

Given that India is the fifth economy in the world, it must be taken into account that the country has a high level of education and there are areas in which the country is dominant globally, such as medicine, said Velev, who is a doctor by profession. Indian professionals have made a name for themselves in the US and UK in the healthcare segment, and there is no disputing their qualifications and potential. In the IT industry, India is one of the leading sources of workforce. The country has a developed pharmaceutical industry and 60% of tablets used in the world are manufactured there, Velev said. "We have no doubt that India has a highly skilled workforce. The issue is to regulate everything," he told BTA.