Bulgaria and Germany will deepen their cooperation in the field of dual training and in the development of work-based learning programmes to be implemented in Bulgaria. This was discussed during a meeting of the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov with Jurgen Friedrich, Executive Director of the German Economic Development Agency (Germany Trade & Invest), Michael Blank, General Manager of Senior Experten Service and Armin Schwimmbeck, Head of Europe and Fairs at the Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Regional Development and Energy.
‘A key priority for the Bulgarian economy is to overcome the shortage of qualified staff and reduce youth unemployment,’ Minister Stojanov said. He added that it is quite logical for Bulgaria to borrow its experience from the countries that have achieved the most in this area. In this regard, the holding of a joint event in Bulgaria with the business community and representatives of Germany, Austria and Switzerland was discussed. In the framework of the conference, the best practices in each of these countries and their possible application in Bulgaria will be discussed. Nikola Stojanov also presented an initiative for a greater penetration of dual training in Bulgarian state-owned enterprises.
During the meeting it became clear that there is a growing interest from German companies that enter our market to train their workers at their headquarters in Germany. The German side emphasized the high level of the specialists working in the Information and Communication Technology sector and stated that their knowledge and skills are world-class.
During the meeting Senior Experten Service, which is a leading volunteer organization in Germany, presented their activities to Minister Stojanov and focused on the opportunities for their experience to be applied in Bulgaria. SES is an organisation with 12,000 experts from all professional fields and has so far implemented projects in 170 countries.
The meeting was attended by Dimitar Danchev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry, Moritz Sailer, Head of the Economic Section at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and Mitko Vasilev, General Manager of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.