The age group worst hit by the economic crisis and unemployment are young people aged from 15 to 24. In figures from the 2010 European Report on employment, in some of the bloc's countries thirty percent of youths in this age group remained outside the labor market. In Bulgaria too, the unemployment rate among them is the highest, at 28.4 percent in 2013, while the average rate nationwide stood at 13%, data from the National Statistical Institute suggest. Some of the reasons for this bleak picture are either low or poor education status, coupled with lack of qualifications and working habits, early school-leaving as well loss of motivation following long spells of unemployment.

Socially disadvantaged youths who have grown up in institutions and deprived of parental support are the most vulnerable members of this age group. For this reason a range of projects funded by European money are focused on their integration and employment. One of them is Get Ready 2 Work financed by the Human Resources Development Operational Programme. Based on research of good Austrian and German practices, a long-term training program has been devised for the project.

„Usually these young people receive short-term support while we aim to help them develop their skills”, explains Olga Mineva, psychologist in an HR company acting as coordinator of the project. Fifty young people from institutions have been recruited for trainings in communication skills, teamwork, setting objectives, presentation at job interviews and foreign languages. They have also been provided with the chance to join internships in large companies who support the cause.

The project also targets HR specialists who are trained to integrate socially disadvantaged young people into working processes more easily. Close to 90 percent of Bulgarian companies are ready to hire them, and a little over 30 percent report on having already hired such workers. Figures come in a poll among 36 companies featuring on the Top 100 chart of Bulgarian companies carried by Capital Daily.

What has motivated companies to hire underprivileged youths? Olga Mineva says more: 

„A leading motivation for them is their efforts to position as socially responsible employers. Mind you that this is not simply PR. Companies want to provide a good example, to inspire their workers not to discriminate socially disadvantaged young people and to show that every human being should be given an equal start. The second important point identified by about 50 percent of the polled is that more often than not such youths are more flexible and innovative. They have developed precious skills for survival in challenging situations and conditions and they display remarkable endurance. Besides, employers say that they tend to be more loyal than the average young person.”

It goes without saying that employers admit about a few challenges when hiring young people from institutions. These have to do with their communication skills as well as with the lack of working habits. Apart from the poll and the trainings, a manual has been published under the project plus a CD with games aimed to train young people looking for jobs in an interactive and entertaining way. 

English Daniela Konstantinova