Developing and using people’s skills effectively is crucial for Bulgaria’s economic prosperity and social cohesion.

This OECD Skills Strategy (OSS) project provides Bulgaria with tailored findings and recommendations on its skills performance from an international perspective and supports Bulgaria’s ongoing strategic planning activities. The OSS project was launched via a virtual Skills Strategy Seminar in February 2022 with senior representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP), the Ministry of Innovation and Growth (MIG), the Ministry of Economy and Industry (MEI), the Ministry of Finance, the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), the Union for Private Economic Enterprise, and the Education Bulgaria 2030 Association (non-governmental organisation).

This chapter summarises the context, key insights and policy recommendations of the OECD Skills Strategy project in Bulgaria. It applies the OECD Skills Strategy Framework to assess the performance of Bulgaria’s skills system and introduces the four priority areas for action, including key findings and recommendations for each. The four priority areas are: 1) improving youth skills; 2) improving adult skills; 3) using skills effectively in the labour market and at work; and 4) improving the governance of the skills system. Subsequent chapters provide a more detailed analysis of the priority areas, opportunities for improvement and recommendations.

Equipping young people in Bulgaria with skills for work and life is vital for the country’s economic prosperity and social cohesion. The skills that young people develop are foundational to their well-being and contribution to society and the economy. This chapter explores three opportunities to develop and improve young people’s skills in Bulgaria: 1) ensuring that curriculum reform and assessment practices improve students’ skills; 2) developing a highly skilled teaching workforce; and 3) making vocational and higher education more responsive to labour market needs.

Participation in adult learning has important benefits for individuals, employers and society. Across countries, there is a growing need to upskill and reskill in adulthood in the context of technological change, more frequent transitions between jobs, the lengthening of working lives, and global shocks such as the COVID‑19 pandemic. This chapter explains the importance of raising participation in adult learning in Bulgaria and improving adult skills and how doing so can contribute to Bulgaria’s economy and society. It also describes current policies and practices to improve adult skills in Bulgaria. It then explores three opportunities to improve adult skills in Bulgaria: 1) increasing motivation among adults and employers to participate in adult learning; 2) making education and training more flexible and accessible for adults and employers; and 3) improving the quality and relevance of adult education and training for adults and employers.

Using skills effectively in labour markets and at work benefits individuals, employers and the economy. This chapter assesses how Bulgaria could better use people’s skills more effectively to support the country in achieving its economic and social objectives. It also describes and assesses Bulgaria’s current policies and practices to support skills use in the labour market and at work. It then explores three opportunities for improvement, namely: 1) activating the skills of vulnerable groups in the labour market; 2) fostering return emigration and skilled immigration; and 3) supporting enterprises to utilise workers’ skills more effectively.

Effective skills governance arrangements facilitate co‑ordination across the whole of government, support the effective engagement of stakeholders and enable the development of integrated information systems and co‑ordinated skills financing arrangements. This chapter reviews the current practices and performance of Bulgaria’s skills governance. It then explores three opportunities to strengthen the governance of Bulgaria’s skills policies: 1) developing a whole-of-government and stakeholder-inclusive approach to skills policies; 2) building and better utilising evidence in skills development and use; and 3) ensuring well-targeted and sustainable financing of skills policies.

The Bulgaria Skills Strategy project involved ongoing oversight and input from an inter-ministerial team (made up of the Project Steering Committee and the National Project Team). The Project Steering Committee and the National Project Team were co-ordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of the Republic of Bulgaria and composed of representatives from various ministries, agencies and social partner organisations, as outlined in and below.