Versatility, imagination, leadership skills, innovation are just some of the skills that students should develop, according to the IT sector in Bulgaria, in order to succeed. Businessmen say that the current education system focuses predominantly on facts and figures and not so much on practical skills. That is why IT experts call for changes in the system, starting from the first grade and spreading to higher education. The IT industry in this country experiences serious lack of experts. Analyses show that the IT business needs to employ about 6,000 people annually while only 2000 experts graduate from local universities every year. These graduates need a few years more of training in order effectively to join the business, Yavor Dzhonev, who has established the largest Bulgarian network of IT companies says.

© Photo: dnevnik.bg

“Currently, the IT sector in Bulgaria is developing much faster than the national economy as a whole. Our industry marks a 10-15% growth every year. If the trend continues in 10 years the IT industry would produce 2% of GDP. If reforms in the education system were made, however, the share might reach some 4% of GDP or as much as tourism produces now. We are to do this with 10 times less people than in tourism, which means higher added value. That is why serious investments and changes in the system of education are needed in order to achieve this growth. There is no other sector in Bulgaria where the average salary is over 1250 euro a month. Such salaries have an overall positive effect on the economy. Development of the sector will also reduce brain drain” he says.

Yavor Dzhonev participates in a few non-governmental organisations, which deal with issues that plague Bulgarian education. Together with a working group he wrote a document, entitled “Strategic requirements of the software industry for education reforms.”

“The traditional system currently focuses on knowledge, as results are checked through exams. It is accepted that managing to pass an exam means that the skills and knowledge have been stored. Actually, many people just forget what they learned right after the exam. Without certain values knowledge cannot be integrated in people’s lives and that is why school should also teach specific values and motivate students.”

Stimulating children’s qualities like imagination, innovation would help the IT sector in the future, Yavor Dzhonev says and adds that for about 8 years a big change in the education system could be made. Examples for steps in the right direction are the software academy established by a local IT company and the work of NGOs trying to attract young people to the teacher’s profession.

English version: Alexander Markov