Major national initiatives
BFE is involved in many capacity building and policy development projects of various stakeholders – Ministry of Education, the Employment Agency, trade unions, employers and the public administration, such as:
2017 – Development of the National School Career Guidance program
Development of the Ranking System of Bulgarian Higher Education
Development of Career Development Program in Bulgarian Schools
Training 1000 Bulgarian school advisors
Qualification of university staff
Developing career guidance capacity in the National Revenue Agency and National Employment Agency
Launching the national Internship portal in the State Administration;
Establishment of a network of 36 university career centers that helps thousands of young people annually develop career management and employability skills and find a job.
2005 – National Internship program that aimed to link the education system and the labor market. BFE has launched a national internships web platform, trained mentors in SMEs and universities, elaborated internship methodologies and helped thousands of young Bulgarians gain professional experience during their course of study and improve their employability.
2008 – launched the innovative flagship Career Club project in 3 Bulgarian schools, which was replicated in 2016 within a national initiative of the Ministry of Education.
2010 – trained 1000 unemployed young people under a project, funded under the National Employment Plan.
2015 – organized 60 career days and 240 seminars for employed people in 28 Bulgarian towns.
Researches and studies:
2007 – First national representative study of Bulgarian students’ career orientation and motivation carried out among 12 477 students.
2008 – Research of Vocational interests of Pupils, comprising of 181 parents and 610 pupils (2-11 grade) in 3 schools in Sofia.
2010 – National youth employability skills survey among 119 employers and 1023 young people.
2014 – Research among 100 Bulgarian companies and higher education institutions on emerging modes of cooperation.
Developed online resources for career guidance:
Web-based platform for vocational orientation of students;
Internship portal in the State Administration;
Interactive web-based tool for self-awareness about career values and preferences;
Mobile applications for career guidance have also been launched as a part of the BFE’ Prometheus project;
Facebook page promoting lifelong learning in Bulgaria.