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Mr. Ivanov, as Mayor of the Municipality of Beloslav, you were kindly invited by UBBSLA to take part in a study visit to the Spanish region Extremadura in the frame of eNEET Rural project, related to youth unemployment in rural areas. What was the reason for your interest to attend?
The development of rural municipalities, such as Beloslav, depends to a large extent on preserving and attracting human recources, especially young people, and developing local entrepreneurship and investing in technology capital. Beloslav Municipality is located in Varna Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, not far from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The population in our municipality is just over 11,000, of which about 2,000 are young people aged 15-29. Young people account for about 16% of all registered unemployed in the municipality. The main characteristic of the youth community in Beloslav municipality, as well as the challenges facing it, are no different from those of the young people on a national scale. Unfortunately, many of them are socially and economically dependent on their families. The exchange of experiences and good practices for motivating and involving these young people in the labor market was my main motivator to take part in the study visit to Spain.
As a stakeholder, what are your impressions of the study visit?
Extremadura region has significantly high rates of youth unemployment compared to the average for Europe. Apparently in the region, agriculture is very well developed and it’s the main sector for the development of the local economy.
The host organization from Spain, Business Research Association National Agrofood Technological Center – Extremadura (CTAEX), organized visits to educational and training centers and business incubators with a focus on agriculture. I was very impressed by the fact that young people, after primary school, are focusing on an intensive study of the main structural sector in the region. That is why the local administration has built a network of training centers and cluster organizations that cover all training needs in the region. Young people are given the opportunity to practice on experimental farms and agricultural laboratories during the education. The young people leave the education system, ready to start their own agricultural business or work in the sector.
And what are the main reasons for youth unemployment in your municipality?
Unemployed youths are poorly competitive on the labor market, with employment prospects related to economic migration and seasonal employment in the touristic resorts around Varna. The main problems are related to the lack of professional experience and education inadequate to market demand, a lower level of professional qualification due to poor practical training and low awareness, as well as the lack of work experience, which is a major factor for each employer in selection of human resources. My observations are that young people aged under 29 living on the territory of the municipality do not have an initiative to develop their own business and self-employment. The main reason is the lack of experience and financial means.
eNEET Rural project, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and Norway Grants focuses on innovation and technology in the agricultural sector, applying a holistic approach to youth NEETs. They will be involved in agricultural training to prepare them to find a job in the sector. How much is this sector structurally important for Beloslav Municipality?
Although the agricultural sector does not have a structural importance in the local economy, the production of grain and technical crops is characteristic for Beloslav, viticulture and fruit growing are developed.
The project is very important for our municipality, I suppose also for the other municipalities in Bulgaria and the project partner countries due to the problem of youth unemployment in Europe’s rural areas is very large, and many young people who have dropped out of school are low-skilled and have difficulties getting a job. The efforts of Beloslav municipal administration are focused on building business infrastructure and conducting investment marketing to attract business outside the municipality and to create new and more attractive jobs. Our administration will make enormous efforts to support the implementation of the eNEET Rural project in Bulgaria.
