site.btaDual Education Can Solve Labour Shortages in Tourism Sector, Deputy Minister Says

A roundtable on Labour Shortages in Tourism: People, Decisions, the Future, organized by the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, was held in Sofia on April 9. “Dual education is a possibility for employers, it is a reserve for Bulgaria, beyond the reserve of workers from third countries, which can be used in the tourism sector,” Deputy Tourism Minister Irena Georgieva said at the roundtable. 

The participants discussed an analysis of the labour crisis in the tourist sector, its economic impact, the working out of concrete measures for the upcoming summer season and the establishment of multi-institutional cooperation for sustainable decisions.

Georgieva said “the perception of a labour shortage, lack of expertise, competencies and skills can be seen everywhere”. She quoted World Travel and Tourism Council data showing that in 2023, the Bulgarian tourism and related sectors contributed more than BGN 12 billion, or 6.9%, to the GDP, and jobs in the sector totalled 283,000. In comparison, in 2019 the tourism industry accounted for 9.9% of GDP and 316,300 jobs. Georgieva said this clearly shows, statistically, that tourism has started to generate a smaller portion of GDP and the number of employees has dropped.

The Deputy Minister attributed the decrease to the pandemic and the military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. “The main problems we face are the huge shortage of employees, characteristic not just of the tourism industry, the drifting of qualified specialists to other sectors in competitive destinations, especially after the pandemic. Young people see no prestige in the tourist sphere, working conditions in the sector are insecure, which demotivates them to stay in it,” Georgieva said.

She presented data from the system of higher and vocational education which confirm this: 2,143 students studied tourism at 14 universities in the country, the capacity of these universities, set by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency being 9,340. Of those students, 89% are Bulgarians, but just 25.62% of the graduates pursue a career in tourism.

The same applies to the system of vocational schools where according to data from the Ministry of Education and Science and a poll of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, 4,593 grade 8 to 12 students in the country are studying Travel, Tourism and Leisure, for jobs including animator, guide, organizer of tourist activities and mountain guide, with 20,240 students studying in the vocational education system.

Irena Georgieva said her Ministry is taking part in the work of education institutions in tourism. She cited the Ministry’s participation in a sectoral council, thanks to which the profession of tour operator has been recognized.

“Dual education is a possibility for employers, it is a reserve which can be used in the process of training, not just after it,” the deputy minister said. Georgieva added that from discussions with the Ministry of Education it has become clear that both employers and the education system have problems. For instance, the statutory framework has been amended to help employers cover the social insurance contributions of school students they hire.