Petya Evtimova - Chairman of the Management Board of the Foundation for Modern Education
Petya Evtimova is a jurist with significant experience in public administration, education and project management. She has been Deputy Minister of Education and Science and of Labour and Social Policy. From 2015 to 2019, she was the head of the Bulgarian-Swiss project for the introduction of dual education in the Bulgarian education system, known as the DOMINO project, which reformed vocational education and made the dual form one of the legitimate forms of vocational training. She is currently Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation for Modern Education (member of BIA).
The Bulgarian-Swiss DOMINO project, which introduced dual education in Bulgaria, ended at the end of 2019. How is it developing now?
Project DOMINO succeeded in a short time to make a significant change in vocational education in Bulgaria, by involving business in its implementation not only as an investment, but also as a responsibility for its quality. Within the framework of DOMINO, dual training was piloted for 12 professions in 32 vocational schools with 170 partner companies from 19 Bulgarian cities. More than 2,400 students participated. But more importantly, the project demonstrated a model whereby businesses not only accept students for real-world workplace training, but also actually participate in the development of the curricula through which these students are trained. After the end of the project, the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) launched a project under the Operational Program "Science and Education for Intelligent Growth", called "Support for the dual education system", with a budget of BGN 24 million, which continues part of the activities of the DOMINO project and for this school year, more than 11,000 students and more than 600 partner companies are involved in the project. Despite these figures, the number of students in dual education is still slightly over 7% of the total number of students in vocational education in Bulgaria. In addition, the model for curriculum development with the active participation of business, developed during DOMINO, is not fully or at all implemented according to representatives of companies involved in dual training.
Has the pandemic and economic crisis affected companies' willingness to participate?
Undoubtedly - both the COVID pandemic and the high cost of electricity, bank loans have affected the willingness of companies to participate in dual training, mainly because some of them can no longer afford the cost of this training. While for large firms these costs are not particularly challenging, it has become difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to allocate funds for dual training.
Are there incentives for companies in other countries that implement dual training?
Yes, there are. And here I would like to emphasise that incentives are perceived as not only purely financial incentives, but also non-financial ones, such as, for example, the creation of special structures to support companies, reducing the bureaucratic burden for companies taking on students, providing companies with complete and adequate information on the conduct of this training, quality vocational guidance for young people, etc.
In terms of financial incentives, I will first give examples of the countries where this type of training has existed for the longest time:
Austria. Since 2016, companies in dual training receive a direct subsidy for each accepted student, and in the first year this subsidy is equal to three trainee salaries, in the second year - to two trainee salaries, and in the third year - to one trainee salary. In addition, companies also receive an additional subsidy if they train specific groups of students or train students in specific occupations. Businesses are exempt from paying some types of social security for students – for example, sickness, unemployment and accident. And in addition, businesses can reduce their tax base with the costs they have incurred in educating students.
Switzerland. Companies that participate in dual training receive preferential treatment when participating in public procurement. In addition, the entire system of dual education in Switzerland is supported by sectoral and/or cantonal education funds, through which the costs of preparing qualification profiles of the professions, holding career fairs, preparing teaching aids, etc. are covered. In Switzerland, there are currently 29 branch education funds that support training for the relevant branch.
Germany. There are different support models in different provinces, but again there are branch (sectoral) education funds. At the national level, there is the "Qualification for first job" initiative, which provides an internship of 6 to 12 months, covering the sum of 231 euros per month from the intern's salary, for students who have not been able to conclude a practical training contract with a specific company. In addition, companies that have accepted students with special educational needs for dual education receive additional financial support. It also covers the costs of students who do internships in bankrupt companies so that they can complete their studies.
Liechtenstein. There is no pure financial support for companies, but there is a National Initiative "100% Vocational Education in Liechtenstein" which budget covers costs for information for companies, for support in establishing partnerships between companies and schools, for consulting on educational and employment issues.
Of the countries that still have young systems of dual education, examples can be given with Slovakia and Hungary.
In Slovakia, tax reductions have been introduced on the basis of each student accepted for internship - the company's tax base is reduced by 3,200 euros for each student who has an internship between 200 and 400 hours, or by 1,600 euros if the internship is less than 200 hours. The training of mentors is free for companies. And from 2018, a direct financial subsidy was also introduced for companies for each accepted student on an annual basis - 1,000 euros per student for small and medium-sized enterprises and 700 euros per student for large enterprises, the condition being that these companies offer more than 400 hours practical education.
In Hungary there is also the so-called "normatively established subsidies" - every company in Hungary is obliged to annually contribute funds for education to a special National Employment Fund, and the funds from this fund are used to subsidize companies engaged in dual training. Subsidies vary in size depending on the profession being studied, with a limit introduced for SMEs – they can accept up to 12 trainees. SMEs receive an additional grant to support mentors and support workshops if they use them only for student training. Companies hosting students can also reduce their tax base through a special formula that includes the cost of training.
Where do the incentives stand for companies in Bulgaria?
In order to encourage the participation of students in dual vocational education, scholarships were introduced for students in grades 8, 9 and 10, i.e. for the time they are not yet attending the company. The training costs of the mentors are also covered by the 'Support for the dual training system' project. Another incentive that we were able to introduce during the DOMINO project was that, through a change in the Health Insurance Act, the health insurance contributions for dual-track students are charged to the state budget. Unfortunately, most of the companies were not informed about this change.
In the examples I shared above from different countries, we can find suitable measures for Bulgarian business that can be successfully applied in our country. The Ministry of Economy has developed an SME Strategy 2021-2027, which includes a specific Measure 4.4. Promotion of SME participation in dual form. This measure lists 4 specific actions to be funded by operational programmes or the state budget, such as: development and maintenance of an information database of employers eligible for dual training; support for SMEs; annual awards for SMEs participating in dual training; establishment of a brand/trade mark of the dual system to distinguish companies participating in dual training. This strategy foresees the announcement of special application procedures for funding for companies in dual training, so I hope that the various ministries responsible will foresee and announce such procedures.
I believe that incentives for companies in dual training are important and need to be introduced, especially in the current difficult economic situation. However, I also believe that incentives should not be one-size-fits-all; on the contrary, incentives are needed according to certain criteria - according to the size of the enterprise, according to the profession being studied, according to the specific region. The introduction of such incentives would help companies that are struggling and hesitant to take on students and would encourage more SMEs to get involved in training young people.
