3.2 Administration and Governance
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Governance
The employment policy in Bulgaria is governed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). It implements the national policy for the labour market, training of workforce and integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market. This includes analyses of the information on the labour market and the results of the active labour market policy and studies on the employers’ needs of workforce with specific qualifications.
It has a leading role in the development of labour market regulations, the Employment Strategy and the National Employment Action Plans. The youth-related activities on the labour market are implemented in the context of the Reinforced Youth Guarantee. The MLSP plays a central role in coordinating the Youth Guarantee's implementation, overseeing active labor market policies, and assessing their effectiveness.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy further updates and maintains the National Classification of Occupations and Jobs (Национална класификация на професиите и длъжностите).
The Employment Agency (EA) (Агенция по заетостта) is an executive agency to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, which implements the national policy on promotion of employment.
The entrepreneurship policy is administered by the Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency. It supports small and medium-sized businesses in Bulgaria with the aim to increase the competitiveness of small businesses by supporting start-up and viable small and medium-sized enterprises in their efforts to be innovative, ecological and export-oriented. In particular, one of the Agency’s objectives is to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit among the young population and students through increasing the quality of vocational schools and implementing pilot projects for the introduction of the dual system.
Cross-sectoral cooperation
At local level, upon the initiative of the Employment Agency, partners have been identified (with mayors, NGOs and other institutions and organizations) in the context of local cooperation agreements to implement actions to activate NEETs and to bring young people to the labor market. Joint activities include: organizing and conducting information events and meetings with young people; exchange and publication of up-to-date information on youth, through the partners’ information sites; provision of youth employment services through outsourced forms of service provision and activation of inactive ones; meetings with employers on youth employment issues and to promote job creation; implementation of joint projects with the social partners to provide opportunities for young people to acquire professional qualifications, key competencies and employment, etc.
The Employment Agency (EA) collects and summarizes data on the work with registered unemployed youths up to 24 years and up to 29 years of age. The data provide information on all actions (services, programs and measures) implemented by the EA as well as those implemented by the social partners in the context of the annual National Employment Action Plans (NEAPs) (Национален план за действие по заетостта). EA also collects and summarizes data on registered unemployed youths at the labour offices, depending on the duration of their registration, their educational and professional structure, up to 24 years of age inclusive and up to 29 years of age inclusive.
The Youth Guarantee in Bulgaria is administered through a collaborative approach involving multiple stakeholders, including government ministries, local authorities, social partners, and civil society organizations. This partnership aims to provide comprehensive support to young people, ensuring they receive quality offers of employment, education, apprenticeship, or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
In April 2023, the MLSP and the Ministries of Education and Science, Youth and Sports, the National Association of Municipalities, employer and employee organizations, and youth NGOs, signed a National Framework Agreement to strengthen the partnership approach in implementing the Youth Guarantee. This agreement focuses on providing young people with opportunities for labor market integration or inclusion in education and training.