site.btaExpert Points to Broken Link between Education and Labour Market

Alexander Gerganov of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) said at the opening of a youth employment forum in Sofia on Tuesday that there are deficiencies in the career orientation of young Bulgarians and a broken link between education and the labour market.

The CSD, which organized the forum, said that young people aged between 25 and 29 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are often ignored as a target group for social policy in Bulgaria. The generation who embarked on their careers immediately after the economic crisis of 2008 were faced with uncertainties and insecurity regarding their employment and well-being. This group of people are often economically inactive or have insecure jobs, the CSD said.

According to Gerganov, women far outnumber men among NEETs aged between 25 and 29. The share of NEETs is considerable among some minorities, such as the Roma. Strategies and policies are not always aligned with the characteristics of the respective subgroups, he said. Given that most of the initiatives targeted at NEETs are implemented by the government, it is exceedingly important to distribute the resources for publicly financed programmes appropriately, Gerganov argued.

The forum provides an occasion for leading experts and representatives of various institutions responsible for the activation of young people on the labour market to discuss youth employment strategies.