Twinninig Bulgaria on Human Resources: Final Workshop and Closing Event

On June 25th and 26th 2008, two work days were held in conclusion of the Twinning Project Bulgaria – “Preparing for Future Management of Human Resources Development Operational Programme” which was embarked on in January 2007.
On day One in Sofia, the Workshop on “Transnational and Interregional Cooperation - Priority Axis 7” took place with the involvement of the experts entrusted by each project partner: the Italian Republic – Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Formez, ISFOL, the Emilia Romagna Region, the German Republic – Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and GVG. The workshop focussed on topics related to training and  integration of the unemployed in the world of labour. Particular attention was paid to the most disadvantaged categories for the purpose of improving both the policies applied to the labour market and the capacities of intervention of the administrations involved. Problem assessment  was one of the central themes developed by the experts during the meeting. They outlined and shared widely diverging experiences and methods of approach, so as to face and solve common problems.
On day Two in Kyustendil, the closing event was held during which Italian and German partners described to the Bulgarian beneficiaries the process developed by each component over 18 months, namely the entire duration of the project, as well as the objectives pursued. The project involved 59 experts who carried out 177 missions for a total of 736 man days compared to the 692 that were originally foreseen. This allowed for the use of 97,95% of the total budget. The increased number of project days was possible thanks to the financial sources saved on some of the budget lines, thus leading to a more effective utilization of the resources available. This way, activities can be better planned by taking into greater consideration the beneficiaries’ needs with specific focus on secondment.
The project has successfully achieved the objectives which were included in the 5 priority results expected from the efficient management of financial means and the experts’ contributions. A number of positive factors had a strong influence on this: the good work conditions offered by the Bulgarian partners, the efficient work carried out both by the Resident Twining Advisor and the Assistant as well as Component Coordinators, the valuable contribution given to administrative management and logistics by the partners from Rome and Cologne who performed as project Mandated Bodies, namely Formez for Italy and GVG for Germany. In light of the results achieved, the final wish was to establish future collaboration and commitment on the topics dealt with.