BCCI shared its experience in promoting the recruitment of people from third countries

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shared its experience in promoting the recruitment of people from third countries, including migrants and refugees under the ERIAS scheme in the framework of training for employers organized by the Association for Development of Sofia and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria. The training was dedicated to the inclusion of third-country nationals in the labour market and was part of an international project "UnionMigrantNet and cities together for integration" #UnionMigrantNet of the European Trade Union Confederation.

The objectives of the ERIAS project / The European Refugees Integration Action Scheme/ are: to develop an extended integration package for employers who wish to hire third-country nationals in accordance with Bulgarian and European legislation and to provide training to third-country nationals on how to start a business in Bulgaria; be entrepreneurs; find a job in the country, as well as language courses in Bulgarian.

Gabriela Dimitrova, member of the ERIAS project team from the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented details of the activities carried out so far, as well as upcoming events. The BCCI, together with the Stara Zagora CCI and the Haskovo CCI, within the framework of the project have done: an analysis of the migrant situation in Bulgaria; study of the needs of Bulgarian employers; integration check lists – for migrants and companies; a handbook for employers; communication strategy /promotional materials and social media accounts/. Seminars for employers had been organized, and at the moment the project team is preparing events for people from third countries. The most recent event was held in Harmanli by the Haskovo CCI. The three Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria provide advice on the topics relate to the project scope.

Dimitrova also presented preliminary information about the collected good examples of integration in Bulgaria, which will be included in a European vademecum.

Even before the end of the project, some of the objectives set at its beginning have already been achieved: a number of new partnerships have been established between different stakeholders, practical tools have been developed for businesses that help the integration of third-country nationals into the labour market.

The participants in the training shared other good practices from employers in hiring third-country nationals, migrants and refugees. The impact of the current health and economic crisis on working with people from third countries was also discussed.