site.btaJob Challenges of Green and Digital Era Discussed at Sofia Meeting

Job challenges in the green and digital era was one of the topics discussed at the Green Transition Forum 4.0 - New Global Perspectives for the CEE Region, which continued in Sofia on Friday. Experts discussed the need to improve employee skills so that the people can be better prepared for new technologies. They looked at the demise of old occupations and the emergence of new ones. Flexible working-time arrangements and remote work were also on the agenda.

Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Ivanov said at the forum that the green and digital transition will cause profound transformations in the employment landscape but will also create new jobs. "In this new environment, investing in people's knowledge and skills to work with new technologies becomes a process of fundamental importance for the successful implementation of necessary reforms," Ivanov said.

Jana Skalkova, Head of the Expert Activities Department at the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said that digitization and technology will cause the demise of conventional jobs but at the same time it will create new jobs, which will require new skills. She noted that although unemployment in Czechia is among the lowest in Europe, the national economy will want new people with new skills, and an effort will be made to include certain social groups such as mothers of little children.

Borislav Bangeev, Director for Corporates and Member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bulbank, said some kinds of work which had to be done in person before, can now be performed remotely, and customer consultation is one of them. This allows the inclusion of women towards the end of their maternity leave, who want to go back to work in a more gradual way.

European Economic and Social Committee President Oliver Roepke expressed support for the goals of Europe's Green Deal and Digital Deal. He said: "The main contribution we can make to this transition for civil society is dialogue and skills. Europe's new strategic agenda does not include a clear commitment to social dialogue, the social partners and civil society."

The President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, Plamen Dimitrov, commented on the rigours of the green transition by saying: "You can't have jobs on a dead planet, but it is all about prudence." According to Dimitrov, over the last 15 years European industry has lost not only its competitive edge but also 3 million jobs. He wondered whether the Green Deal can create new jobs, and when. Dimitrov pointed to the challenge of job loss in energy and industry. "We are on the losing side because of the green transition," he argued.

Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association Chairman Vasil Velev said the EU is responsible for just 7% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. He sees a deficit of human resources, that is, an insufficient number of people, low skills and low motivation to carry out the transition. "We cannot just put our industrial plants on hold and wait for 10 years until the price of energy becomes competitive. It is not a coincidence that hundreds of large European enterprises have moved out of Europe," Velev commented.

The discussion was moderated by Bulgaria's Economic and Social Council President Zornitsa Rusinova.