Burgas reached its lowest levels of unemployment at the end of September. The percentage of people without employment is only 2.2%, compared to over 4% in previous years.
Lower unemployment in the summer season is due to the change in the attitude of employers towards qualified personnel. A large number of owners and managers, especially in the field of tourism, provide year-round employment to proven employees. However, this is not the case in industry, where specialists are sought, but due to the unattractiveness of the work, positions remain vacant for months.
At the moment, there are about 2 thousand registered unemployed persons in the municipality, revealed the director of the Labor Bureau there, Tatiana Nikolova. Despite its low levels, it should be noted that unemployment is largely due to the seasonal employment of personnel in the region. After the pandemic, however, a change in the attitudes of employers in tourism has been noticed. “I suppose that after the pandemic, employers in the tourism sector have released permanent contracts to their specialists and remain “in motion” only those who are fired and then hired again. They either have lower qualifications, or they change employers and don't stay with the same one”, Nikolova pointed out.
It turns out that the most serious problem with a shortage of personnel is in health care. The problem is also serious in industry. Such is the example in the metallurgical combine in Debelt, where the average age of the workers is 49 years. “We need qualified, technical personnel. We are looking for men. We need locksmiths, mechanics, engineers, operators. "Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find and hire such staff," Olga Bashkirova, who is the Human Resources Manager at the company, does not hide. Even if such personnel are hired, on-site training for at least 6 months is required.
Employers have their own explanation for the lack of personnel in heavy industry. “The first is the unpopularity of the profession, ferrous metallurgy is an unusual, unpopular type of employment in Bulgaria. Our work is very responsible. Not only responsible, but also complex. "Young people are usually looking for something lighter and less responsible," Bashkirova adds. There are more than 30 vacancies at the plant. An option for hiring workers from outside Bulgaria was also discussed - as has been practiced in the field of tourism in recent years.
Bulgarians who want to study and find a new job can retrain with the help of the Labor Bureau. “There are programs for young people up to 29 years of age, for the unemployed with primary and lower education, for the long-term unemployed, for the unemployed over 55, for persons who are of retirement age, we also have a program, we also have a program for people with permanent disabilities”, Tatyana Nikolova also said.