The results of the first FP7 calls are published and it seems that only about 8-9% of the submitted proposals have been financed. Therefore we strongly encourage your company to join our special training session that will build on experiences from the first round of FP7 calls.

The FP7 Academy includes an e-learning preparatory course followed by an interactive discussion with former EC project officers and evaluators. The last 2 days of the workshop will be dedicated to project management and financial reporting.

Special Early Bird rate is available for applications until 10 September, 2007!

More information about EUROPEAN FP7 FUNDING ACADEMY, BUDAPEST

On the 24^th November 2006 in Sofia, an international conference on entrepreneurship in Europe was carried out. The Conference was hosted by the National Centre for Vocational Training within the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCVT).

During the Conference experts from the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria presented their experience in flexible training methods in the field of entrepreneurship.

For the first time the e-learning platform on entrepreneurship was presented in public. The partner team of the Enterprising Europe Project has developed the platform in a period of 3 years. It is a combination of distance learning and face-to-face activities and was based on the good practices of the seven European countries working on the project.

The learning content is suitable both for existing enterprises willing to improve their business and for any individual who want to gain knowledge and skills in the field of entrepreneurship. The e-learning platform will be available from March 2007.

More than 30 journalists and tour operators felt the spirit and the traditions of the Teteven Mountain during the information tour organized by the National Centre for Vocational Training within the BCCI and the Centre for Sustainable Development of Teteven Municipality. The philosophy of the whole journey was feeling oriented experience in the shape of live attractions.

In the village of Goliam Izvor the participants were taken back in time into the 18th century. They were sitting on the pupils’ desks and were examined by a young lady on their first grade knowledge. As everybody passed the exam successfully, it was time for the group to leave for Teteven. There, under the sprinkles of the Skoka waterfall the adventurers enjoyed an outdoor lunch on one of the most beautiful spots in Stara Planina.

In the museum of the village of Cherni Vit everyone could feel and experience the everyday life of the locals the way they lived 100 years ago. Some of the participants learned how to weave using an old traditional loom, others carried water from the village spring and some of the brave guys /and also girls/ turned into rebels with ancient guns and uniforms. All these lessons proved to be very precious for the next stop of the journey – the village of Glogovo. There the group became a part of a traditional wedding of muslim Bulgarians. Such wedding was last performed 40 years ago. Music, dances, colourful costumes and reviving traditions left deep memories in everyone who had the chance to be part of this old ritual.
Teteven proved its authentic spirit and is waiting for you!

In order to be competitive on the common European market producers of fruits and vegetables need to unite themselves in producer organizations. More than 200 agricultural producers came around to that opinion during the 6 seminars carried out by the National Centre for Vocational Training together with the National Agricultural Advisory Service.

The seminars took place in two of the planning regions of Bulgaria where the majority of the producers reside. In June the trainers visited the regions of Varna, Dobrich and Targovishte and in September they were in the towns of Plovdiv, Haskovo and Yambol. There is one more training planned in the spring in Veliko Tarnovo.

The seminars are carried out within the project “Setting up producer groups – technical assistance and practical training” funded by the Flemish Government. The Belgian lecturers shared their 50 years experience in the field of establishment and management of producer groups. During the seminars the following topics were presented and discussed: legal framework of producer groups’ establishment, Bulgarian and European legislation in the field, basic steps in producer groups’ establishment and recognition by the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Commission, production marketing, benefits for the producers from their membership in the organization, etc.

At the beginning of November a group consisting of the most active producers will be visiting Flanders to observe on spot the activity of the biggest cooperative in Belgium. As a result of the project we expect to have actual producer organizations established in accordance with the European requirements.

Bulgarian AOTS Alumni Society - Activity report 2002 – 2006 (format ppt)

Under this programme NCVT together with National Association "Health & Beauty" will provide vocational training for profession “Beautician” for two groups of twenty unemployed people, and eight of them will be hired on a regular job.

On 10 September 2004 in Dobrich National Centre for Vocational Training within the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCVT) will carry out a conference on the topic “Gasification – challenges to the vocational training”
The conference shall be opened by Mr. George Tchernev, Vice-President of BCCI and President of NCVT, and Mrs. Detelina Nikolova, Mayor of Dobrich Municipality, and is organized within the project “Labour market initiatives” of the PHARE Programme. Mr. Bernd Germen, representative of the European Education Centre for Social and Technical Professions, Germany, shall present a report during the forum.
The conference aims at popularizing the development of gasification in Bulgaria, the needs of the employers in this field, problems and perspectives to the vocational training in Bulgaria compared to the European practices.
NCVT shall open the first Laboratory for practical training in the field of gasification in the North-East region of Bulgaria. The Laboratory was built with the financial support of PHARE Programme.
Location: Dobrich Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Dobrich
3, Bulgaria Str.
Contacts: Mrs. Pavlina Bogdanova
Tel.: (+359 58) 60 51 77
E-mail: ncpo@dobrich.net

The National Centre for Vocational Training within the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCVT) actively participates as a partner in the EU Project “Enlargement, employment and vocational education and training” of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. The Project creates a network of 9 European countries – Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden. The main project objectives are the establishment of constantly operating structures, which to ensure qualification and employment of people in the context of the EU enlargement to the East in the field of IT and mechatronics; higher level of information availability and good practice models’ identification; support of the presence of good practice models for adaptation and application within the national vocational training systems.
NCVT took part in the second working seminar in Helsingoer, Denmark. During the session there were presented NCVT’s results on the “Observatory” working package – Bulgarian educational system evaluation; situational analysis of the vocational education and training institutions, the good practices in the sectors of IT and mechatronics. Impression caused also the questionnaire results, conducted among trainees, trainers, branch organizations in relation to the mechatronics’ introduction and application within the sectors and the potential advantages for the companies, applying the new IT.

National Centre for Vocational Training within Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a partner on Bulgarian side in the project “Enterprising Europe” of the “Leonardo da Vinci” Programme. The other partner organizations come from Austria, Belgium, Greece, Spain and Hungary.
This project aims at synchronizing the entrepreneurship training activities in different European countries by:

• raining of trainers and tutors and future training in entrepreneurship and on-line training
• Working out competencies modules with view to the development of the entrepreneurship skills of beneficiaries
• Development of separate training platform
• Establishment of network consisting of organizations and schools implementing the training modules as well as assessing and developing them

On 20 August 2004 the last phase of the training for trainers in entrepreneurship within the Bulgarian-Flemish project “Entrepreneurship evening and weekend training centers for Bulgaria” was completed. The participants defended their business plans in fields chosen by the trainers – tourism, agriculture, business services. Detailed strategic and operative plans were presented by each of the work groups. A particular interest was provoked by the business plan worked out by the representatives of the National Centre for Vocational Training within Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry dedicated to the launching of vocational training for animators in the tourism.
Mrs. Hristina Hristova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy was official guest to the closing ceremony and handed the certificates to the trainees.

391 marginalized women were the beneficiaries of the project of the National Centre for Vocational Training within Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry within the programme of the European Union “Grundtvig” and each of them had the opportunity to acquire qualification in new professions. Most of them decided for accounting to be their most desired field of training. The second most preferred training was computer literacy, then different professions in the tourist sphere and textile industry. “Most of the ladies chose to work in their homes so that they can combine their domestic obligations and professional development”, says the Project Coordinator Lilya Hristova.
The training was carried out in the capital city and 20 regional towns including Bourgas, Varna, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora and Lovech. The process of acquiring additional skills lasted from 14 to 30 days and was carried out in groups of 12 to 19 people. The list of the successful graduates was distributed among companies and branch organizations. The results of the project show that every third woman had the chance to start work and in some of the regions this percentage is even higher. Another part of the trainees work out business plans so that they can make their reputation as entrepreneurs in the real economy.
The project value is 6900 EUR of which the grant from “Grundtvig” is 2300 EUR. “Grundtvig” consists of 4 components. Under one of them “Learning Partnership” lasting one year the training was carried out. The programme was launched in September 2003. Partners to the National Centre for Vocational Training are similar organizations from Norway, Austria and Italy. The collaboration contract was concluded with the National Socrates Agency by the European Human Resource Development Centre.
Women gone through the training share their experience:

• Svetlana Dimitrova (Employment Office Liulin, Sofia) – XPERT computer training – “To me, the training was very useful not only in terms of the newly acquired skills that I really implement in my everyday work but also because of the social contacts with other women of different social background. All techniques used in the training as well as the exam specifications correspond to the EU requirements and from this point of view the course is even more effective.”
• Krasimira Ivanova (Lovech, “Bookkeeping”) – “I have never believed that bookkeeping will be my future vocation. I am fascinated by the organization and the opportunity to keep the books of four small companies from the region”

National Centre for Vocational Training within the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCVT) carried out a for a consecutive time training on the profession “Currency Teller”.
Employees of the Corporate Commercial Bank participated in the training. They acquired knowledge regarding the legal framework for cash operations, documents required for recording the cash operations, sorting the banknotes, management of the information considering funds’ movement, etc. The practical part of the training was led by a cash operations expert from Bulgarian National Bank.
Mr. George Tchernev, President of NCVT and Vice-President of BCCI handed officially the certificates for vocational training qualification.

For the first time, the LL days are also held regionally by NCVT partner IIZDVV.

In the framework of the event, NCVT CEO Ms. Stancheva will hold consultations on the creation of the Virtual ABC Academy. She will also present the Centre's activities and the Glaobal Facilitation Partnership Distance Learning Initiative (GFP-DLI) of the World Bank. (presentation -Power Point, 4 MB)

During the Third Lifelong Learning Week, a roundtable was hosted by BCCI and NCVT on the topics of Lifelong Learning. The Center presented the GFP-DLI website.

In the framework of GFP, NCVT together with leading organisations will develop training courses on trade facilitation topics to be made available to all GFP partners through the Distance Learning Initiative of GFP (GFP-DLI).