“Doctor” is the most attractive profession in Bulgaria. It ranks first with a rating of 55.46 out of a total of sixteen professions from the Mechanical and Metal Processing, Electrical and Electronics, Transport and Spedition, and Beauty and Health Medicine and Services sectors. However this does not solve the problem of physicians’ deficits due to the growing leak of qualified staff outside the country. Measuring their attractiveness is part of the implementation of project BG05M9OP001-1.011 – 0002 “Achieving sustainable and quality employment by improving the attractiveness of professions with low labor market supply in key sectors for the development of the Bulgarian economy”. This was announced by Vasil Velev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), at a special closing press conference on the project. The least attractive profession in these industries is that of the locomotive driver.

In the mechanical engineering sector, the “Mechanical Engineer” profession was the most attractive with a 54.64 rating. After that, the professions of “CNC Machine Setter”, “Welder” are ranked and with the lowest rating is the “Spinner” profession with an average rating of 35.44.

In the “Electronics and Electrical Engineering” sector, the highest rating of 47.80 is the “Electrical Engineer” profession. Second is “Electrical Engineer” with 38.36 rating. The third and fourth are the professions “Electronic technician” and “Machine operator”.

“Locomotive Driver” is the least liked profession of “Transport and Logistics” with a rating of 26.02. The ratings of “Airplane Pilot” and “Heavy Truck Driver” are 54.64 and 46.54 respectively

The other professions of “Medicine and Health and Beauty Services” are Midwifery and Medical Nurses, with the lowest rating in the industry being the profession of a laboratory technician with a rating of 33.14.

“The aim of the project was to create a pilot model for solving one of the main problems on the labor market over the last 15 years – the lack of skilled labor for key areas of the Bulgarian economy. Overcoming the imbalance between demand and supply of suitably qualified human resources is one of BiCA’s largest and most labor-intensive goals. I believe that the proposals to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Ministry of Education that we have made as a result of the results of the project activities are feasible and will be taken into consideration, “said the chairman of BICA Vasil Velev.

In the world practice so far, no such system has been developed to take into account the attractiveness of professions, nor is there such a rich tool for enhancing their attractiveness, which includes a strategy and a plan with specific measures, models for enhancing the attractiveness of each of the 16 professions, module to promote the labor force and its mobility, as well as a model for objective assessment of labor productivity. A new model for negotiating minimum wages and introducing collective bargaining practices on labor productivity has been developed. Proposals for the introduction of mentoring and advocacy in the Bulgarian legislation have been made after the pilot testing of the procedures developed in the project in more than 85 enterprises from the above mentioned four branches. A total of 40 career counselors and employment agents from the Employment Agency were trained to apply the tools developed to jobseekers.

Within the framework of the project, the “Rating of the Occupations” Information System has been established, which will annually announce campaigns for rating the professions with low labor market supply. All developed systems and tools will be provided to the MLSP and the Employment Agency for free use and further development.

The project BG05M9OP001-1.011 – 0002 “Achievement of Sustainable and Quality Employment by Improving the Attractiveness of Professions with Shortage of Supply on the Labour Market in Key Sectors of the Bulgarian Economy” started on 02.01.2017, within the 24 months more than 80 experts have been involved in its realization. Associated partners in the project included experts from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Employment Agency and the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training.