An interim report on the implementation of the Human Resources operational programme made by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, in practice shows that the government faces serious difficulties in tapping the financial flow. Since 2007, when Bulgaria began participating in the programme until May 2012 over 1.57 billion levs in schemes to improve the labour market was agreed. The projects here also include measures to lower unemployment rates, support business and make education a bit more convertible. The good news is that this represents around 75% of the funds that Europe will provide to Sofia by the end of 2013. So if the government puts more effort, it can successfully reach its goal by December this year to absorb 90% of the money and by the end of the programme period to accumulate the entire resource. However, a year and a half before the end deadline, what remains unspent is 500 million levs from the European Union designed to promote employment in Bulgaria.
The bad news is that despite improvements,
subsidies for specific projects
are still in stagnation. Much of the blame for the low practical realization of Human Resources lies in the fact that the real prosperous period of 2007-2008, when out of the planned over 420 million levs the state managed to take only a half. For the two years really absorbed sum was a little over 8 million levs. Since 2009 under the programme have been paid over 508 million levs, which can hardly be considered a good result, provided that the number represents only 21% of the total budget. For comparison, it is only the operational program Environment where the state acts slowlier and the delay of the funding of the projects is greater. According to Ognyan Zlatev, an expert from the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate General at the European Commission, one of the main obstacles is the gap between the enormous possibilities that gives one of the most comprehensive European programmes, and the ignorance of people on how to use them.
Of course, administrative capacity building is not waving a magic wand, yet the lagging behind in some of our most important priority axes raises serious concerns. The largest imbalance is between the agreed and spent money on Improving the quality of education and training in accordance with the needs of the labour market. From the 455 million levs what is actually paid is only 60 million. In practice, the administration of the education minister Sergei Ignatov has launched almost no projects for training of teachers and educators and the quality of general and secondary education has also not improved much, although for these purposes a sum of 270 million levs is available nearly. Another
90 million levs for school and student placements
remain at the shelf. The report of the social ministry claimed that the schemes are a priority and have already been contracted by the Ministry of Education and Science and the actual results would occur in the second half of 2012. It remains to be seen, however, if the promise is just not a good wish.
Certain progress has been marked towards adjusting the quality of higher education and the needs of businesses, where by the end of the year will start four schemes totaling 72 million levs. But most of the money will go to student scholarships and awards, as well as to encouragement of teachers who receive the lowest wages in the EU.
Most money – over 498 million levs is planned to promote economic activeness and development of the labour market, but there the actual accumulation hardly exceeds 16%. The most significant budget has been awarded to the scheme Development – 250 million levs. Here unemployed are granted vocational training vouchers and upon completion of any course they must be employed. But in practice far more encouraged are the employers that receive state subsidy (currently 55 million levs) to cover the salaries of new workers for the period between 9 and 12 months.
The BANKER
