site.btaLabour Migration Roundtable Discusses Benefits, Challenges of Hiring Foreign Workers in Bulgaria

A national roundtable on the topic "Bulgaria Attracts Talent: Sustainable Models for Labor Migration and Integration" was held on Wednesday. In it, government and business representatives discussed the Bulgarian labour market, labour migration and the hiring and integration of third-country nationals into said market.

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Danail Rusev stated that since the beginning of this year alone, over 28,000 citizens from third countries have been granted access to the Bulgarian labour market. They add up to over 108,000 from 95 countries allowed to work in Bulgaria over the past three years, the Deputy Minister said emphasizing that interest in the Bulgarian labour market is growing.  "This shows that we are developing international cooperation in the field of labour migration", commented the Deputy Minister, noting that several agreements have already been signed - with Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and one is about to be signed with Uzbekistan. 

The President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tsvetan Simeonov, stated during the forum that there is still a delay in processing documents and scheduling interviews for foreign workers needed by companies in Bulgaria. According to him, there is still much to be desired in terms of the digitalization of the process “in a way that does not allow the monopolization of one or another company”. Simeonov added that it is necessary to resist the creation and acquisition of monopoly positions in the sector of importing workers. He pointed out that the priority for employers should be Bulgarian living abroad, a large reserve for hiring people is internships during training.

Stanislav Chervenkov, Deputy Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development – ​​Bulgaria Foundation (CEED Bulgaria), pointed that within two years, in which the organization has been implementing the project “Nationally Sustainable Migration and Integration”, a series of meetings have been held with both employers and representatives of third-country nationals. “We managed to touch on many different opinions, different positions regarding whether it is easy to come to work and live in Bulgaria; whether our real labour market is accessible; whether our institutions work effectively,” commented Chervenkov. He pointed out that there is a shortage of qualified labour in the country and stated that Bulgaria is not just looking for workers, but wants to attract talents, “the cream of these highly specialized experts”, who can come and add value with their expertise and experience to the processes taking place in our country.

Gabriela Dimitrova, Director of International Cooperation and International Organizations at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presented during the forum the “Guide for Employers on Hiring Third-Country Nationals”, which will soon be printed. She pointed out that its main goal is to provide clarifications to employers and reduce the risk of administrative errors and delays. "We are aware that the process of hiring third-country nationals is complex, involves multiple institutions, many deadlines, documents, and therefore a clear and consistent framework is needed to help businesses go through this process", she added. According to Dimitrova, the guide provides practical guidelines, checklists, steps to ensure better organization, legality of actions and transparency.

Beata Papazova, Advisor "European Integration and Projects" at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out during the forum that the process of attracting third-country nationals and hiring them on the labour market in Bulgaria has many aspects and factors that influence its successful implementation. One of the factors, in her words, is the creation of favourable working conditions for those wishing to work in Bulgaria. In her words, this factor is extremely important because it creates an immediate sense of security and an opportunity for realization for the workers attracted from third countries.