Minister Angelkova opened the first meeting of the Interinstitutional Council for Personnel in Tourism

“Personnel are the face of Bulgarian tourism as they form the main part of its product and the improvement of their preparation and qualifications depends on our joint efforts. The quality of tourist services and the sector’s competitiveness respectively can increase only through well-trained personnel,” said Minister Nikolina Angelkova, speaking at the opening of the first meeting of the Interinstitutional Council for Personnel in Tourism.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva chairs the council and  took part in the working meeting. The council is comprised of 43 representatives of four ministries, institutions  of education, employment and human resources development, controlling authorities, higher schools, colleges and occupational high schools from Sofia and the country, employers’ and industry  organizations, trade union organizations, non-government associations,  national resorts, etc. 

According to World Travel and Tourism Council data, in 2015 the total number of jobs directly and indirectly related to tourism is 338 thousand, down by 6.5% on 2014. The total share of employees in tourism and tourism related industries is 11% of all jobs in Bulgaria.  The number of directly employed persons in tourism exceeds 92 thousand, down by 10% on 2014.  Bulgarian education experts announce that university graduates in tourism have hit the lowest level of employment in the last five years. “We initiated the establishment of the council namely due to this so that we could begin to seek a solution to one of the biggest problems in the sector“, minister Angelkova said.

“For a year and a half we have held many meetings with the tourism industry and the main problem raised at each of them was the lack of sufficient trained personnel in the sector.  The data indicates there is no stability in the hiring of teams and the turnover of staff is constantly increasing because of the seasonal nature of the sector“, Nikolina Angelkova emphasized. She added the establishment of the council as a consultative body comprised of representatives of all institutions and organisations, which was to become a common platform for long-term solutions, had been initiated namely because of this.

In the words of the minister, the state can form policies and exert control on regulations but cannot do the business’ work.
“We are, however, ready to cooperate in any useful way. All of us should together seek a balance as regards personnel on the basis of objective analyses,”  she pointed out. The council will outline operational measures, discuss problems, gather and analyse information about the free movement of workers and employees, the employment rate, and income levels.
The establishment of the council aims to ensure the required coordination for the successful implementation of programmes and policies to encourage the employment, training, qualification, and requalification of people employed in the sector of tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism has studied the good practices in countries like Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal, but prior to applying their experience in professional training in tourism, the needs at a national level should be clear, it transpired at the event. Therefore, a more active partnership with business and employers’ organisations is also needed.

The minister proposed the council holds a sitting once. Its members will present their views on the draft regulations on its functioning by June 10. They will also make proposals for the formation of thematic groups that will work on the most pressing problems.