The document discusses the development of career counseling in Bulgaria. It describes challenges in 2000 such as high unemployment and a gap between skills and labor market needs. To address this, Bulgaria introduced a bottom-up approach to career guidance, establishing standards and training over 800 school advisors and 100 career counselors. This helped revive the national career guidance system and bridge education and labor markets. While progress has been made, further challenges include developing a national career strategy and strengthening career services and culture.

1. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
The Developing
Career Counseling
Profession in Bulgaria
Nevena Rakovska

2. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Challenges of Yesterday
Bulgaria in 2000:
• High unemployment rate
• Gap between labor market needs and skills of labor force
• Students lack practical skills and information about
career choice
• Many “job-hoppers”
• Low awareness of career services
• Lack of stable career guidance system

3. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Morals of the Past
• Sustainability: it takes decades to establish centralized
career guidance system and only a year to ruin it
• Support: respond the needs of business, academy,
secondary education, students, institutions, general
public
• Synergy: find the cross point of multiple interests &
join efforts
• Awareness: career services promotion and advocacy
of career system development
• Professionalism: acknowledged standard for career
professionals

4. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Introducing a Bottom-Up Approach
For Bridging the Gap between
Education and Labor Market

5. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Bottom-Up Approach
Promoting Career Services
Sustainable Development
Building Capacity
Training Career Practitioners
Advocating Career Guidance System

6. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Bottom-Up Approach
Career Guidance Standards & Credential
Academia Business
Secondary
& Vocational
Education
Institutional Level

7. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Business
Institutional Level
100 HR
Professionals
Trained
Internship
Programs,
Career Services
Academia
Secondary
& Vocational
Education
3 Master
Programs
Launched
Partnership
with Education
Boosted
Career Guidance
System Revived
800 School
Advisors Trained
15 Trainers
Trained
40 University
Career Centers
Established
100 Career
Counselors
Trained
GCDF Credential Introduced

8. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Institutional Level
• National Board for Career Counselors Established
• Association of Career Counselors in Bulgaria founded
• Structural Funds focusing on priority areas:
internships, competitiveness and lifelong
development of human resources
• Career Guidance measures included in Employment
Action Plan and other strategic documents
• Career Guidance Centers to be licensed by National
Agency for Vocational Education and Training
• National Career Guidance Strategy & Forum preparing
• Bulgarian approach - model for neighboring countries
(Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Serbia)

9. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Brief Review of Career Guidance
& Counseling in Bulgaria

10. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Services Providers
• Psychologists, counselors and labor market
specialists of Employment Agency regional offices
• 800 school counselors in big secondary and
vocational schools in all regions
• 100 counselors in 40 university and faculty career
centers
• 100 + counselors in commercial sector, public
institutions and business

11. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Practitioners
• University degree - mainly in Psychology, Pedagogy,
Economic & Social Sciences, HR management, etc.
• Special trainings provided since 2005
by NBCC Bulgaria / Business Foundation for Education
under Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF)
program
• Several Master and Post-Graduate programs in Career
Counseling, incorporating GCDF

12. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
GCDF Trainings
• Practice – oriented, module structure, palette of
competences:
Career Theories, Labor Market, Assessment, Helping
Skills, Diverse Populations, Employability Skills,
Training Clients, Program Management, Promotion and
PR, Technology, Ethics, Supervision
• Certification requirements: 120 hours of training,
200 hours of related practical experience, study case,,
adherence to ethical standards, continuing education
and supervision
• Tailored trainings for career specialists in public and
private sector

13. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Services in School
• Career guidance is still not integrated within the
school curriculum
• Special lessons on career information and guidance
led by the class teacher and school counselor
• Individual counseling and group guidance sessions in
the State Employment Agency
• Work shadowing experience and compulsory practice
in vocational schools
• Student enterprises
• 3 career centers established in vocational schools
• Career Clubs in 3 pilot schools

14. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Services in University
• Dissemination of career and labor market information,
trainings and job openings for students & graduates
• Recruitment services
• Promoting and organizing internships
• Career Fairs
• Corporate presentations
• Master classes
• Group seminars on employability skills
• Individual Counseling - career guidance and career
management

15. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Services
in Business Settings
• Assessment of interests and abilities
• Internships
• Career management trainings & mentoring for
interns / entry level employees
• Individual counseling, life planning and management
for combining professional and individual roles
• Group trainings and development programs
• Career coaching
• Career counseling for personnel in restructuring
enterprises and sectors

16. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Career Services
on the Labor Market
• State Employment Agency
• Implementation of active labor market measures
• Career guidance
• Dissemination of occupational information
• Individual counselling and coaching
• Group trainings on employability skills
• Motivation of discouraged individuals
• Vocational education and trainings
• Job placement
• Career fairs
• Many private career agencies & VET centers

17. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Other Career Initiatives
• Career Fairs, organized by JobTiger since 2002
• Internships and apprenticeships are growing more
popular among students and employers
• First National Survey of Students’ Career Orientation
carried out in 2008 by BFE and Hewitt.
In 2009 + secondary and vocational schools.
• Web-based sources of career information:
Careers.bg, JobTiger.bg, Staj.bg, KakviDaStanem.bg
• Projects funded by EU Structural Funds

18. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Challenges of Tomorrow
• Development of national career guidance and
counseling system & strategy
• Further institutionalization of the profession
• Strengthening the capacity of the Association
• Ensuring quality of services
• Using ICT & assessment tools
• Access and services for vulnerable groups
• Mapping career services
• Building career culture

19. Business Foundation for Education
www.fbo.bg
Thank you !
Nevena Rakovska
Business Foundation for Education/
National Board for Certified Counselors – Bulgaria
nevena@jobtiger.bg
www.fbo.bg