4.4 Inclusive Programmes for Young People
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Programmes specific for vulnerable young people
One of the key priorities of the employment policy in Bulgaria is the provision of conditions and opportunities for increasing employment and reducing inactivity and unemployment among young people. Activities with young people on the labor market in Bulgaria are carried out in the context of the Recommendation of the Council of the EU “Bridge to jobs - strengthening the youth guarantee”. Proposals are made for employment, training or re-entering the education system. The main objective of the recommendation is to strengthen the partnership approach in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee with a view for providing young people with all opportunities for labor integration or inclusion in education and training. In this regard, in April 2023, a National Framework Agreement (Национално рамково споразумение) was signed for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The parties to the agreement – the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, nationally representative organizations of employers and employees, as well as the National Youth Forum, the Bulgarian Red Cross Youth organization and "Youth Voice" association, аre committed to the implementation of specific measures related to the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in Bulgaria.
The active labor market policy (APPT) in Bulgaria is focused on disadvantaged groups on the labor market, one of which is young people up to 29 years of age (including). They are offered an appropriate pack of active labor market measures, including employment incentives, employment services and adult learning, including on the workplace, which can support young people's quality labor market transitions from employment to employment, from education, unemployment and inactivity to employment.
Registration at the employment offices provides young people with an access to a wide range of intermediary services such as information, consultation, employment mediation for employment on the primary labor market, and also on additional jobs, inclusion in qualification courses and retraining, etc.
In the case of dual education, the theoretical preparation is solidified in a real work environment. Intermediary services are also provided to youth directly with their realization, which is vital for acquiring specific skills (for looking for a job, for preparing documents, for the formation of confident behavior, etc.) that they acquire through their participation in Job Search Workshops. Psychologists, working in the employment offices, provide young people with individual and group psychological support, and case managers provide them with assistance in contacting other institutions to overcome obstacles for starting a job.
Funding
Taking into account the role of employment incentives in creating jobs and facilitating transitions to the labor market, Bulgaria annually finances measures promoting the creation of employment with funds from the state budget. Measures are also implemented to support the entrepreneurship of unemployed persons, incl. unemployed youth. Young people are also encouraged to seek, start work or study outside the region where the unemployed live, by providing financial support for daily commuting to the place of work or study.
Part of the subsidized jobs аrе: providing with opportunities for internships, thereby enabling the educated youth to acquire professional experience and increase their employability. Subsidised apprenticeship under the guidance of a mentor is also provided, which is suitable for youth without education and qualifications. In this way, young people acquire not only work habits but also professional skills and qualifications.
Quality assurance
The main mechanisms in place to monitor and ensure the quality of the programs implemented is an obligation of the The National Audit Office. It is the public body to control the spending of public funds. In this number the funds for vulnerable young people described above.
The ministries responsible for the respective program carry out inspections, analyzes, prepare reports and statements based on direct relations and feedback between the persons and organizations concerned with the implementation of the programs, monitor and control the implementation of the financial, content and organizational part of the beneficiaries' projects with regard to the lawful and expedient use of the funds.
Programmes specific for vulnerable young people
Specialized job fairs are one of the successful tools of the Employment Agency (Агенция по заетостта) for attracting young people to the labor market. They enable a direct meeting between young people not in employment, education and training (NEETs) and employers. Support is provided through a targeted offering and provision of services like Family labor consultant and Consultation and post-employment mentoring. An effective approach for activating NEETs are the youth mediators in the municipalities with the highest number inactive youth. Youth mediators identify inactive young people, reach out to them and support them to gain confidence, motivate them to study/work and support them in their job search and/or inclusion in training.
Measures for support of children and youth who leave alternative care (such as foster care, social and integrated health-social services for residential care) are provided according to the Action Plan for implementing the Council recommendation 2021/1004 establishing a European Child Guarantee (2030) (План за действие за изпълнение на Европейската гаранция за детето) adopted in 2022. The first operational plan for 2023-2024 for the implementation of the action plan includes activities for approving of innovations for support of those leaving alternative care, including by providing accommodation, social skills, work habits, family planning, developing mechanism for complex support trough services for support for independent life of youth with intellectual disabilities, leaving residential care, etc.
Quality assurance
Monthly brief analysеs of the labor market, including the main indicators such as employment, unemployment, persons outside the labor force, according to data of the Employment Agency, the National Insurance Institute and Eurostat can be found at the following here. In the field of statistics and analysis of the labor market, the Employment Agency maintains an unemployment database and prepares quarterly and annual labor market surveys, which are available at the official page of the Employment Agency, Statistics and Analysis (Статистика и анализи) section. Feedback forms for employers and job seekers studying their satisfaction with the services offered by the Employment Office Directorate or Career Center Directorate are available on the official website of the Employment Agency. Detailed information about feedback forms can be found here.
With a view to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the programs, projects and incentive measures in accordance with the Employment Promotion Act, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy prepares an assessment of the effect of the active policy on the labor market financed with funds from the state budget (Оценка на ефекта от активната политика на пазара на труда). According to the results of the conducted net assessments, the group of young people has the highest net effect of their participation in programs and measures for employment and/or training.
One of the main functions of the Agency for the Quality of Social Services (Агенция за осигуряване на качеството на социалните услуги) is to control and to monitor the provision of social services. Every provider of social services is obliged to carry out periodic and annual internal control and monitoring of the quality of the social services provided by them. The periodic monitoring of the quality of the provided social services is carried out by the provider through various activities, including through systematic feedback from the persons using the service and from members of their families with the aim of collecting information regarding their assessment of the quality of the provided social service and the result of using the service. Furthermore, service efficiency standards have been defined for all types of social services in view of the achieved results for the persons who use them in response to their needs, as well as indicators for their implementation. Part of these standards are related to conducting surveys, interviews, discussions, etc.