New opportunity to support the connection between Bulgarian employers and third parties on the labor market in Bulgaria

The President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry /BCCI/ Tsvetan Simeonov will hold a meeting with the team at the Access to Law Foundation /ALF/. The main topic of conversation was the possibilities for supporting the relationship between Bulgarian employers and refugees and choirs from third countries within the framework of the labor market.

Against the background of the deepening labor crisis, which threatens the normal functioning of a number of Bulgarian companies, Simeonov talks with Valery Ilaryeva, the chairman and Maria Netsova, coordinator of the Access to Law Foundation. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry strives to respond to the challenges faced by businesses in Bulgaria in the search for qualified and suitable workers. In this regard, several projects related to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund were implemented - IMMIJOBS, RIDE and ERIAS. Efforts to expand opportunities for hiring foreigners and choirs from third countries in Bulgaria also continue.

Colleagues from ALF presented an innovative platform for employment, created in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency. It provides an opportunity to connect refugees and migrants with employers. The platform was officially launched in the region in February 2024 and is available in 7 languages (Bulgarian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Pushcha and Farsi). It will publish job ads and articles on various topics with useful information related to the labor rights of refugees and migrants.

The Access to Law Foundation maintains a database of refugees, migrants and employers who are actively looking for work. At the moment, about 450 foreigners have declared that they are looking for work in the country. Most of them are highly qualified, and others have different competences and experience. The main countries of origin are Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan, and apart from their mother tongue, many refugees speak English, Russian and Turkish.

ALF has a license for an employment intermediary. The financing of the activities of the employment platform is carried out by the UN Refugee Agency, so employers do not owe fees for labor mediation. Employers can advertise vacancies by filling out a form on the employment platform in the "post an ad" section. The next contact is from the country to the Fars with the purpose of signing a contract for mediation. Then the job advertisement will be published on the website and channeled to ALF in social media. The foundation moderates groups on refugee communities in the country in four languages - Ukrainian, Russian, Pushcha and Arabic, which it also uses to distribute job ads from employers.

Active cooperation was agreed between BCCI and AFL.

You can find more information in the article aimed at employers - "How to hire refugees for work?", a short video introduction and presentation.

Contact: Maria Netsova, Access to Law Foundation, www.farbg.eu , https://www.refugeelight.bg, https://www.statelessness.bg, Tel.: +359 88 4 456 162 Facebook: https://www .facebook.com/farbg.eu