Barely 15 percent of the Bulgarians intend to leave this country for a longer period and only 1 percent of people want to emigrate, data of a February poll of the TNS BBSS sociological agency shows. The poll had been ordered by the Tuk-Tam NGO, linking all Bulgarians with experience abroad with Bulgarian employers. “The myth that all Bulgarians want to leave the country is busted,” comments for Radio Bulgaria Mariela Vacheva, one of Tuk-Tam’s establishers. According to the poll nearly 2 million Bulgarians live abroad, as more than ¾ of those work or study within the EU. Germany, England and Spain are the three most opted for destinations, followed by the USA. Some 2/3 of the emigrants are aged 25 – 44 – their most active age. It turns out that each third Bulgarian has a friend or a relative abroad. However, they continue to communicate actively, using modern technologies. Skype is the preferred tool for communication and each fourth connects with friends via social networks. Bulgarians abroad return home during vacations and invest some of the money earned in foreign countries into this one’s economy.

“Some 70 percent of the Bulgarians get back home at least once per year, often more,” says Zhoro Penchev from Tuk-Tam. “30 percent do it without any special occasion. This means they have their active connection with Bulgaria; they want to contribute to its development, to vote and maybe one day to return and implement their knowledge here. It is an interesting fact that the majority of those, who would go abroad for a while, want to work there. This also encourages us that the activities we have focused on – career forums, are in the right direction. We contribute a lot, when we provide opportunities to Bulgarians abroad to find their career development here.”

The Career in Bulgaria. Why not? forum has been organized for a 7^th year in a row by volunteers of Tuk-Tam. It connects people with education and experience from abroad with Bulgarian employers. There will be two forums in London and Frankfurt this year, due to the great interest. “Bulgarian employers will go there and meet Bulgarian students, in order to get them acquainted with career options offered,” Mariela Vacheva explained.

“The interest of the companies towards these events is much bigger than we had expected,” Zhoro Penchev adds. “So, the initiative has its future and we will continue to develop it at other locations maybe, and with more companies. The interesting thing is that there are companies from all sectors. It was mainly the IT and HR spheres that showed interest before, now the production sector and the administration one said they wanted to come and present job opportunities.”

According to Marchela Abrasheva, a regional director of TNS BBSS, the greater mobility of Bulgarian citizens doesn’t mean we have to talk on emigration, but on an opening of opportunities for globalization of the Bulgarian community. “This is one of the important things that happened after Bulgaria’s EU accession,” she said in conclusion.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev