site.btaCaretaker Labour Minister: Over 45,000 People Activated to Start Training or Seek Employment in 2023

In 2023, over 45,000 people were activated to start training or seek employment, and 500,000 people in the coming years will acquire basic digital skills through relevant training, caretaker Labour Minister Ivaylo Ivanov said in a greeting address on the occasion of Labour Day. The address was published on Wednesday on the website of the Labour and Social Policy Ministry. 

Ministry administration placed 155,000 people in employment in 2023. The Ministry will continue to support change for more decent working conditions in Bulgaria because it depends on future employees and their children to choose to fulfill their potential in Bulgaria, Ivanov's address said.

"Dear workers, it is my honour to congratulate you on the occasion of the International Labour and Workers' Solidarity Day - May 1! The day on which we celebrate the unity of workers united in their struggle for more dignified working conditions. Labour is at the heart of enduring poverty. It secures our personal social stability, the peaceful future of our children, the dignified old age of our parents. The functioning of systems vital to any society - social, health, education - also depends on work. I wish you never to lose faith that you, the people of work, bring about change for the better and the motivation to achieve it. Especially in today's dynamic world of political upheaval, climate change and rapidly evolving technologies, which are creating more and more global challenges to the organization of work and the provision of decent and safe conditions for it," Ivanov noted. 

He pointed out that the demographic situation is also alarming: the population is ageing, the work force is declining. "Professions are disappearing and new ones are emerging. Jobs are declining. Employers are looking for employees with specific skills, which turns lifelong learning from into a necessity for full realisation on the labour market," the caretaker minister adds. 

"The Labour and Social Policy Ministry is aware that overcoming these new challenges requires not only the public energy of solidarity of workers, but joint and thoughtful action with employers and institutions. One of our most important objectives in the short term is the transposition into Bulgarian legislation of the directive on adequate minimum wage in the EU. I believe that together with the social partners and all stakeholders we will find a balanced solution that will ensure not only decent and fair pay, but also the stability of the Bulgarian economy," Ivanov said.