The Labor Exchange - a Way to and for the Young People
by Valia Stoyanova,
expert , Youth Labor Exchange, Haskovo
At the beginning of 1997 the Youth Information and Consultation Service (YICS) Program, drafted by the Committee on Youth, Physical Education and Sports, was launched. Within the framework of that program a Youth Labor Exchange (YLE) was opened on March 27th, 1997 in the town of Haskovo. It is only the fourth YLE set-up in the country since the work aimed to providing jobs for young people with YLE is the most difficult for the organizers. The purpose of the youth labor exchange is to inform, register and direct young people between the age of 15 and 30 looking for a job with Bulgarian and eventually foreign employers who have vacancies.
Activities organization
The organization includes three stages.
We have launched a publicity campaign at the first stage which was directed to potential employers and aimed at drawing their attention to YLE. We used all available ways to advertise through the media, i.e. we published short advertisements in the regional daily Novinar-Youg and district daily Shipka , broadcast short information via the three electronic media in the city TB51-Haskovo, Union Television, Haskovo TV Recording , as well as published articles and advertisements. In our advertising campaign we focused on the fact that the activity has been carried out free of charge both for employers and applicants. We prepared and sent letters to the employers, in which we stated our willingness to perform joint work and our address for contacts with YLE.
Over the second stage we established contacts with the employers personally or by phone. This procedure gave good results: we collected information on employers requirements as to the kind of work available, working conditions, working hours, remuneration, details for feedback.
Over the third stage, which was underway almost simultaneously with the second one, the YLE s activities concerning young people and registration requirements to YLE were widely spread. We took advantage in addition to all media in the town, also of the kind cooperation of those who are closer to young people - namely school directors, classteachers, pedagogical advisers. At the press-conference parents, young people and journalists had the opportunity to ask questions and recieve answers from specialists of the exchange and representatives of the Committee on Youth, Physical Education and Sports. A great part of the parents were afraid that their children would fall into the company of bad people or would have to work in harmful working conditions. Parents were comforted by the fact that the YLE work in close cooperation with the Labor Inspectorate and strictly complies with the provisions of the Labor Code - namely Art. 301, 302, 303, 304 and 305; Regulation on Employment of Persons Under 15 Years of Age, SG No. 8/1987. That gave quick results. In the first days after the opening of the exchange it was surrounded by a great number of secondary school students. First to come were the graduates from the Mathematics and Natural Sciences High-School where foreign languages are thought, the Economic High-School and a lot of young men who had recently completed their military service.
The first employers showed up. The first white sparrow was the Director of the Distributing company of printing matters Pamil Ivan Milev. After him other employers demonstrated interest. They needed waiters, barmen, cooks, engineers, carpenters, fitters, shop-assistants, chair weavers. And this goes on even now.
Performance of activities
Coming to YLE young people fill in a registration form. It includes personal details of the applicant, information on his/her qualification, foreign language skills, preferred kind of work, preferred time schedule, etc.
In the vacancy form the employers fill in the nature of the available job, remuneration, working conditions, details for contacts, and undertake the obligation to observe the provisions of the Labor Code. The employers do not use the services of the ordinary Labor Exchange and that is due to the fact that YLE offers several applicants for one and the same vacancy. Interviews are arranged in YLE s premises between employer and applicants. For a number of young people this is their first contact with an employer. This fact is of great importance for their mentality and our presence there encourage them, while the employer has the opportunity to select the most appropriate candidate in a competative way.
The YLE does not interrupt its contact with those young people who have been hired. The efficiency of the labor exchange s work is guaranteed by control procedures as well. There is a feedback system established both with the employer and the newly-appointed employees in order to follow up the process untill the end, i.e. how the newly-appointed employee, assisted by the YLE performs and whether the employer fulfills his contractual obligations.
The YLE has had no any problems with the employers so far. There are no instances of young people s labor abuse, failures to fulfill employment and remuneration agreements.
A serious psychological problem proved to be the unrealistic idea of some young people of their capacities to perform. A student from a technical college is convinced that he is able to work only as a computer specialist. Graduates from foreign languages high schools insist on working as translators by all means. A second-year student from Clothing Design High-School is convinced that she can work only as a fashion designer. These young people s dreams get in conflict with reality, which may wound their mentality not strong enough to endure the collision with everyday life. Students University are more realistic and their wishes are more modest. Therefore the assistance of the YLE s experts is essential. They should have personal style, abilities, proper attitude, enormous patience, skills and capacity for communication, adequate qualification to gain young people s confidence.
We started in a period of economic stagnation when there was total lack of vacancies. The awareness of the great responsibility we assumed and the limited possibilities for supporting the boys and girls in their first steps into the real life encourage us to perform better our duties. We hope we are helpful to them and are able to support the young people to overcome the difficult social environment.
Haskovo s YLE has registered more than 610 young people looking for a permanent job and students willing to earn money in their spare time. At present there are 27 University graduates, among them 18 economists, a doctor, a civil engineer, three electrical engineers, culture expert, teachers. Every fifth applicant finds employment but the number of applications is steady.