A NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR WORKFORCE COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT IN BULGARIA SHALL DEVELOP AND GOVERN A NETWORK FOR WORKFORCE COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT BY SECTORS A

A National Council for Workforce Competence Assessment in Bulgaria (NCCA) was set up today, 26 October 2010, at the Bulgarian Industrial Association. The Council has been established as part of a project implemented by BIA under Operational Programme "Human Resources Development", the ultimate objective of which is to develop an online based Information System for Workforce Competence Assessment by sectors and branches (ISCA).

The newly established Council embodies representatives of state institutions, the social partners, branch associations and the academia, all related to the country's workforce development and the project objectives.  The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science shall be represented by Deputy Ministers, while the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training - by its President. The Council also encompasses representatives of human resource management organizations. BIA's President and president of the project, Bojidar Danev, shall govern the Council.

NCCA shall be a permanent body for cooperation, consultation and record keeping of workforce competence assessment by sectors and regions. The Council will discuss the competence models and issue statements which shall serve as a basis for the assessments of job places and vacancies within the different sectors, sub sectors and enterprises, developed during BIA's project implementation. NCCA shall issue the interested parties draft regulations and measures for encouraging workforce adaptability, as well as recommendations for overcoming labour market challenges.  

The Council shall govern the National Reference Network (NRN) for workforce competence assessment, which is to be developed during the project. The Network will encompass 20 Sector Reference Units and 10 Regional Centers for competence assessment. NRN is an organizational "infrastructure" and prerequisite for the development of the Information System for Workforce Competence Assessment. The Network shall ensure the smooth development, recognition and implementation of competence models in practice at sector and corporate level. The National Center for Assessing Competences (NCAC) shall coordinate the general methods and activities content of the National Reference Network. The first two pilot sectors which shall launch the development and implementation of competence models will be agreed upon during the first NCCA meeting.