site.btaNational Trade and Banking High School Opens Its 25th Integrative Practical Training Fair

The National Trade and Banking High School in Sofia on Friday opened its 25th Integrative Practical Training Fair, which also marks the 111th anniversary of the school's establishment, the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science said in a press release.

"Over 156,000 pupils are trained in professional fields in the 2023/2024 school year, and their number is growing annually," Education and Science Minister Galin Tzokov said at the event.

The National Trade and Banking High School boasts the world's largest number of practice formations: 64, with 800-plus pupils involved annually. All 64 formations are taking part in the 2024 annual fair: 20 practice banks, six practice insurance companies and 38 practice business companies whose objects cut across the spectrum. They have 43 mentors and sponsors: real banks, companies, and insurance companies which provide methodological guidance and financial aid for the implementation of the 25-year-old Integrative Practical Training Project. 

Tzokov toured the pupils' stalls, and they demonstrated cooking skills, a business plan for the development of a veterinary clinic, a functioning ATM, soft loans, fitness programmes, motorcycle maintenance and many other business pursuits.

During the 25 years of the project, teams of the high school have entered over 200 international competitions and fairs in Austria, Germany, Spain, the US, Slovakia, Finland, France, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, and Costa Rica, winning more than 360 team and individual awards.