site.btaAdvancing Innovation, Labour Market Challenges, Innovative Education on Agenda of Green Transition Forum Final Day

Unlocking the potential of Central and Eastern Europe by boosting innovation and the opportunity to increase the competitiveness of the region's countries was on the agenda of the third and final day of Green Transition Forum 4.0 in Sofia on Friday. This was the fourth edition of the forum organized by Dir.bg and 3E News with BTA as a media partner. There were also discussions on labour market challenges and innovative education.

The participants also looked into the high-tech economy, the need for world-class science and the role of education in promoting innovative thinking.

Among the keynote speakers during the final day of the forum were the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova, caretaker Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivaylo Ivanov, caretaker Minister of e-Government Valentin Mundrov, caretaker Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov, caretaker Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Georgi Angelov, caretaker Deputy Minister of Education and Science Natalia Miteva, Director-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission Marc Lemaitre, Chair of the EIC Fund Svetoslava Georgieva.

European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, who joined the forum by video conference, said that concerns about the loss of jobs during the green transition should be allayed. In a reference to the Green Deal and miners' concerns about it, he said that those working in the sector understand the need for change, but are concerned about what will happen to their jobs in the future.

EU Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Iliana Ivanova said that the Green Transition can only succeed through concerted efforts if all regions, citizens, and economic sectors see its concrete benefits. She added that the energy sector in Europe, which generates three-quarters of greenhouse emissions, produced more electricity from renewable energy sources than gas last year, amidst Russia's aggression against Ukraine, due to coordinated action.

Caretaker Economy and Industry Minister Petko Nikolov emphasized the importance of a proactive industrial policy to bolster the continent's global industrial standing and decrease its reliance on critical sectors such as energy, critical raw materials and digital technologies. He also highlighted the role of innovation support in achieving these goals. He argued that there is a need for greater EU support and a plan for industry reform through technological modernization and digitalization. 

In the panel on job challenges in the green and digital era, Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Ivanov said 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," he added 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.

At a panel discussion on competition in the high-tech economy, Dr. Petar Tsankov, CEO and co-founder of the technology company LatticeFlow AI, shared his regret that Bulgaria and Eastern Europe are currently not part of the deep technology ecosystem. According to him, the challenge for the region is related to the shortage of research institutes, which is the reason for the lack of such companies. 

Dronamics co-founder and CEO Svilen Rangelov said that it takes courage to be ambitious, but that is the key to unleashing the innovation dam. Rangelov expressed his gratitude to the European Innovation Council for the funding it granted to Dronamics because it was key to the company’s development. He commented on the financing of innovative companies in Europe, pointing out that when a company reaches a certain stage in its development it faces difficulties in securing finance.

Caretaker Minister of e-Government Valentin Mundrov said that although progress has been made, digitization and digital transformation in business, outside the ICT industry, is still low in Bulgaria. He participated in a panel on "Trends in Digitization and Cyber Security". Bulgaria is in one of the last places in Europe in terms of implementation of customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and cloud computing, Mundrov said. It is necessary to go through the required steps as quickly as possible and try to reverse this trend, he said, expressing confidence that with joint efforts, this can be achieved.

Marc Lemaître, European Commission Director-General for Research and Innovation, said work is in progress in several directions with the ultimate goal of tapping the innovation opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. He said that being a leader in climate neutrality, Europe has a lot of work to do to reach the ultimate goal. This means much more effort is needed in research and innovation, not just for the sake of climate neutrality, but also for the sake of Europe's future competitiveness. 

In the discussion on innovation and education, caretaker Deputy Minister of Education and Science Natalia Miteva pointed out that skill development has been one of the biggest gaps in the Bulgarian education system over the years. This is also the reason why businesses complain that young people, although they have an incredible drive and many interests related to contemporary issues, may not be well enough prepared for what awaits them, as the education system lags behind in its overall paradigm right from primary grades to higher education, she said.