We will leave a National Concept for Dual Training to the next regular cabinet. This was said by the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov during a forum-discussion organized by the Cluster Trakia Economic Zone today. In his words, this is not a topic that can be solved in a year or two and a national compromise and continuity is needed.
The project was prepared after an analysis of the Austrian and Swiss models in Bulgaria. ‘State-owned public enterprises will have an important place in the concept. So far they have stayed out of this process and the state has a mechanism to encourage them to participate,’ Minister Stojanov stressed.
‘We hope this will further promote the initiative and encourage not only more private companies to get involved, but also more parents to trust this training system,’ he said. Minister Stojanov added that there is a need to build a critical mass of participants in the project, because so far the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s database shows that only 89 employers are interested in training through work, and the total number of students involved in the initiative is less than 500.
Participants in today’s forum discussed the fact that technology in companies is outpacing training and this requires changes in educational programmes. They united around the opinion that the state and business need to unite efforts to restart vocational schools, as companies should actively participate in this process. In this regard, Minister Stojanov said that ‘over the years many companies have made efforts in the right direction, but independently. So with this concept and joint action we could achieve results in a short time.’
The Trakia Economic Zone is the largest industrial park in the country and unites over 200 enterprises employing 45,000 people.
Today’s event was attended by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the Minister of Innovation and Growth Alexander Pulev, representatives of the municipal and regional administration, the leadership of the Cluster Trakia Economic Zone and others.
