Annex A. Engagement
The Bulgaria Skills Strategy project involved ongoing oversight and input from an inter-ministerial team (made up of the Project Steering Committee and the National Project Team). The Project Steering Committee and the National Project Team were co-ordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of the Republic of Bulgaria and composed of representatives from various ministries, agencies and social partner organisations, as outlined in Table A A.1 and Table A A.2 below.
The OECD held one virtual consultation and two rounds of in-person consultations with officials and stakeholders in Bulgaria between February and June 2022. A broad range of actors participated in these consultations, including ministries, government agencies, subnational authorities, education and training institutions, businesses and business associations, unions and community associations, academia, civil society and other organisations. The consultations included a virtual seminar, interactive workshops, thematic expert meetings and bilateral meetings. Staff of ministries and organisations in the national project team acted as moderators and note-takers during the in-person workshops in April and June 2022.
Consultation 1: Skills Strategy Seminar
During the first virtual consultations on 17 February 2022, members of the OECD team held a seminar to formally commence the project with the Project Steering Committee and National Project Team. The Seminar was attended by various ministries and organisations (Table A A.3).
During the seminar, remarks were shared by Deputy Minister Maria Gaidarova (MES) and Deputy Minister Vanya Stoyneva (MES).
Consultation 2: Assessment consultations
During the second consultations, held in person in Bulgaria from 11 to 13 April 2022, members of the OECD team:
2. held a stakeholder assessment workshop to build broad cross-sectoral buy-in to improve Bulgaria’s skills system, facilitate networking, and gather stakeholders’ views
3. held four experts’ discussions, one on each priority for the project, for the OECD to gather experts’ views on Bulgaria’s main challenges and opportunities to enrich the report.
Representatives of several ministries and offices, social partners, NGOs, education and training providers, and other stakeholders attended the assessment consultations (Table A A.4).
Consultation 3: Recommendations consultations
During the third consultations, held in person in Bulgaria from 20 to 23 June 2022, members of the OECD team:
1. held bilateral meetings with various ministries and organisations on the national project team
3. held a stakeholder recommendations workshop to test draft recommendations and discuss their feasibility and implementation
4. held 4 experts’ discussions, one on each priority for the project, for the OECD to test draft recommendations with experts
Representatives of several ministries, offices and stakeholder groups attended the recommendations consultations (Table A A.5).