1. Food-Skills ES/08/LLP-LdD/TOI-149065
Seminar
September 28th 2010
Mathilde Chadorge

2. OUTLINE OF THE DOCUMENT
Introduction to the food sector
Qualification levels, training needs and offer, unofficial recognition
System of recognition of non-formal and informal knowledge
Certification system prototypes
Other undergoing processes towards an official certification process
Conclusions 2

3. Introduction to the food sector
Food sector in Bulgaria:
2.6% of the Gross Added Value
3.5% of employment of the total workforce
14% in the manufacturing sector.
Around micro and small enterprises in the food sector - mainly in the production of bread and bakery, beverages, meat and dairy products. 3

4. Qualification levels, training needs and offer, unofficial recognition
Lower-skilled personnel (EQF levels 1 to 4) = 76% of the workforce in food.
Training needs and offer:
Need for professional trainings in food = low.
Only few training centres offer specialised courses.
Companies = without continuing education schemes.
Unofficial recognition of informal learning:
Unofficial recognition practice of the informal learning: a low-skilled employee can relatively easily be promoted within a company:
Process = “Transmission of the shift”
Minimum one month training by a former employee. 4

5. System of recognition of non-formal and informal knowledge (1)
Official certification system:
No official system of recognition of non-formal and informal learning
Prototype under development:
Directorate “Professional Qualification” at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science
Prototype-system to validate the knowledge and skills acquired through non-formal and informal learning or professional experience.
System:
Validation request by applicants to the expert team;
Full application dossier presented;
Evaluations (comparison to the national requirements for the given level);
Final decision made;
If positive, a certificate is issued. 5

6. System of recognition of non-formal and informal knowledge (2)
Prototype under development:
However, prototype = for few professions. Only later in the food sector.
Past, advanced prototype proposed by the Union KT Podkrepa. Never adopted. Based on a self-evaluation methodology.
Other processes :
Vocational Education and Training Act = being amended to include a system for the certification of such knowledge.
Ministry of Education develops state requirements for each level of education and qualification  to define accurately for each profession what an employee must be able to do. 6

7. Stakeholders and communication:
Conclusions
Stakeholders and communication:
Lack of dialogue between social partners and the Ministry + inability for collective bargaining to influence public requirements for professional qualification.
Conclusions:
Topic of increasing importance in national policies for education, training and human resources development.
Companies give clear signals of an increased interest in continuing education.
Conditions gathered to foster the adoption of the prototype developed by the Ministry. 7

8. Thank you very much for your attention!
Mathilde CHADORGE
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for the contents and any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The need of the existence of such system is recognised. In addition, the labour experience is generally more requested than the diploma in Bulgaria.
The General Secretary of the Syndicates’ Confederation, Kt Podkrepa, Mr.Sasho Petkov, has developed 5 years ago a system for evaluation of skills, acquired in a non-formal or informal learning, based on a self-evaluation form. This questionnaire was developed in a frame of a European project. The document (questionnaire) could be found today on the website on the Ministry of Education, but it is not officially recognised. One of the biggest obstacles to system’s recognition is that the proposed method of self-evaluation does not correspond to the Ministry’s condition to compare skills to the formal state exigencies. This system is also general and do not make differences between sectors. Questionnaire’s methodology was us explain during one of the interviews.
Actually, the Ministry of Education, with the help of a German consulting company, is developing a system, a prototype for accreditation and evaluation of non-formal learning. The idea of this prototype is that the evaluation will be executed by experts which would be accredited for doing such activities. In the moment we are faced to the development of a normative order that will extend the actual art.40, which describes the procedure for certification of skills acquired as a result of informal learning or self-learning at the workplace;(from the Vocational Education and Training Act) and will enable the establishment of a special nomenclature for validation of the non-formal learning. The Ministry of Education is developing state requirements which will bend the study content toward the results that should be acquired in each degree of education and each level of qualification. The results have to be concertized for each profession to fixe exactly what a man should be able to do within his profession. For instance this is not jet regulated.
The procedure for validation of results from non-formal and informal learning will be the following if this prototype is officially approved:
First shall be created normative conditions for validation of the results from non-formal and informal learning
The individual will submit a statement for declaring its interest to officially validate his skills acquired from non formal or informal learning
The individual will present all necessary information for the treatment of his dossier
After a full evaluation of this documentation , a decision for finalisation of the procedure will be taken
The evaluation of his skills will be made in accordance with national standards for formal learning in the same profession
If the results are positive, a legal document will be issued 8