In July 2007, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy presented the national representative survey on the demand for skilled labour, carried out by the Vitosha Research Agency and Industry Watch. The survey shows that Bulgaria has not experienced an acute labour shortage since its accession to the European Union. The demand for higher skilled labour is greatest, followed by the demand for qualified workers, while demand for managers is low.
On 4 July 2007, the Vitosha Research Agency and Industry Watch presented the main findings of their national survey (in Bulgarian, 2.4Mb PowerPoint presentation) on employers’ skilled labour demands for the period 2008–2010. The survey was commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (Министерство на труда и социалната политика, MLSP) and is included in the 2007 National Action Plan for Employment (BG0702019I). The survey sample features 2,019 companies with at least five employees. Some 1,500 of the companies surveyed are micro or small-sized companies, while 350 are medium-sized enterprises and 150 are large companies.
In her opening speech at the presentation of the national survey findings, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Emilia Maslarova, referred to the country’s low level of unemployment – which stood at 7.4% in June 2007 – and to the fact that a labour surplus still prevails in the Bulgarian labour market, which is not being fully utilised. She also highlighted that the ministry provides training programmes for unemployed people in skills that are in high demand in the labour market.
Main survey findings
Possible skills shortage
The survey shows that Bulgaria has not suffered from an acute labour shortage since its accession to the EU. About 46% of employers consider it highly important for the development of their business that their employees possess skills in languages, information technology (IT), communication and team working. The majority of the employers believe that the skills of their employees are sufficient. However, they are concerned about a possible skills shortage in the labour market, mainly in relation to languages and IT. They identify this as a problem in cases where companies expand their business activities or in the event of new business creation.
Demand for specific skills
Employers face the greatest problems in demand when they require personnel with specialised skills: 14.4% of companies cited shortages in this regard. It is also relatively difficult to find clerks or high-skilled workers who are available to fill vacancies, according to 9% of employers. Meanwhile, the demand for unskilled labour and managerial staff is low, with 4% and 2% respectively of companies noting shortages in these fields.
The greatest demand for labour in 2007 has mainly been in relation to positions such as those of salespersons, tailors, machine operators, cooks, drivers, estate agents, welders, clerks and information specialists, as well as waiters and bar staff. The survey also reveals a high demand for specific skills like those of mechanics and fitters of cars and other vehicles, construction engineers, mechanical engineers, doctors, nurses, as well as economists and other specialists involved in business administration.
Asked to share their expectations in relation to labour demand for the period 2008–2010, the employers predicted a high demand for salespersons and merchandisers, followed by tailors, cooks, estate agents, chambermaids, drivers, waiters, bar staff, clerks and information specialists. In terms of more specialised personnel, they expect that the highest demand will be for mechanics and fitters of cars and other vehicles, construction engineers and technicians, nurses, economists and other specialists involved in business administration.
Comparison with international findings
A comparison with data from the Global 2007 Manpower Employment Outlook Survey (772Kb PDF) – carried out in 27 countries but excluding Bulgaria – reveals that labour demand in Bulgaria is similar to that in other countries. According to the Manpower survey data, there is a particularly high demand for salespersons, carpenters, plumbers, technicians, engineers, accountants and financial specialists, laboratory assistants, middle production managers, top managers, machine operators and drivers.
Training and recruitment
Overall, 45% of the Bulgarian employers interviewed responded that they would be willing to train their own staff if there was a need for new skills or an expansion in business activities. Some of the employers, at 12.4%, indicated that they would not have an objection to hiring workers from outside of the town or region in which their company is based, while only 3% stated that they would look for new employees from abroad. However, about 37% of the employers do not expect to face any problems in hiring new employees. In 2007, more than 60% of the employers surveyed have either already organised training activities at their company or plan to do so by the end of the year.
Views of social partners
The survey data do not fully correspond to the points of view expressed by some of the leaders of Bulgaria’s employer organisations. The latter blame the national education system for sustaining ‘old’ competencies and for the lack of new skills, such as the ability to adapt to new requirements and team-working proficiencies. Unlike the views expressed by the employers surveyed, the representative organisations prefer instead to look for workers from abroad, arguing that ‘it is too expensive to train employees on the job’.
Conversely, the trade unions share the same opinion as those surveyed, namely that Bulgarian employers still do not need to look for workers from abroad. Representatives of the largest trade union confederation, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (Конфедерация на независимите синдикати в България, CITUB) believe that the effectiveness of labour use is strongly dependent on the level of wages and salaries, as well as on working conditions. CITUB has also confirmed its support for programmes for professional qualification and lifelong learning, which it believes should be implemented jointly by the government, employers and trade unions.
Ekaterina Ribarova, Institute for Social and Trade Union Research