“Finding the right human resources is the most serious challenge facing employers in Europe, which has a serious negative impact on the economy and society. Europe loses € 0.8 an hour because of a mismatch in labor market demand for employers’ skills”, said in a statement Dr Milena Angelova, Secretary General of BICA, at the Tripartite Meeting of the European Social Partners in Brussels yesterday.

She participated in the meeting as acting chair of the European Center for Public Service Undertakings. Before the President of the Council of the European Union and the Prime Minister of Romania, Ms Dancila, the President of the Council of the European Union Mr Tusk, EU President Mr Juncker, Commissioners-in-Office and Presidents of the European social partners, she urged urgent measures to tackle Europe’s workforce shortages by targeting young people with education and qualifications in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, digital technology and making vocational education and training the most preferred but a choice.

Another focus of her speech was the need to promote the competitiveness of the economy as a prerequisite for maintaining the extremely expensive European social model. “Although Europe’s population is only 7% of the world and GDP is 22%, the 28 member states of Europe account for over 40% of social spending in the world,” she said. In this context, it called for urgent decisions on the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027 and for investments in infrastructure and competences sought in the labor market to promote productivity.

BICA has been alarming for years about the growing problem of human resources shortage and has been working systematically to bring the admission system in Bulgaria in line with the demand on the labor market, as well as to increase the attractiveness of professions with a key to competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy.

President of the European Council Mr Tusk stressed that investment is key to overcoming the slowdown in economic growth in Europe. The President of BUSINESSEUROPE, Mr Pierre Gathaz, drew the attention of the Romanian Presidency to the many problems in implementing the directive on seasonal workers and called for their timely resolution. Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission, was also present at the Tripartite Meeting of the European Social Partners.