How to find your way?

Márton IllésBulgaria, Latest news

“When your English teacher inspires you to learn so much that the thought of quitting doesn’t even occur to you, then you really start to understand how much knowledge you can gain,” shares 21-year-old Daniela.

She is a part of a group of young people that the Trust for Social Achievement is supporting through the “Find your way to the world of work” project. This project helps youth aged 15-29 to gain knowledge and experience that will later benefit their personal and professional development. Participants receive career counseling and take part in soft skills, English, and computer literacy courses. The team guides and supports young people throughout the entire process of searching for employment and filling in job applications.

Daniela joined the project in 2020 and has actively participated in its activities. After successfully completing her Level 1 English and making new friends in the classes, she decided to enroll in Level 2 English.

She was born in Burgas, on the Black sea coast but went to school in Plovdiv, where she graduated from the Humanitarian High School. Most of her schoolmates enrolled in university after completing their secondary education. “When your parents can afford to pay for your education and to help cover your expenses so you don’t have to work, then it’s an entirely different situation,” Daniela muses.

Daniela’s dream was to become a doctor. However, her top priority for now is to have a child, because she already lost a baby in a previous pregnancy. Still, she hasn’t given up on her dream to go to college.  She is currently working in a bicycle manufacturing factory in Plovdiv, while taking part in a variety of courses to help build different skills. “I decided to invest in myself now, while I don’t have a child, so that I can prepare for the future,” she says.

Daniela is part of the third cohort of 41 participants in the English courses withing the project. Beside the language skills, only for the last 6 months there were organized two inspiring meetings where students took the advance to speak with real business representatives and to see how the process of hiring and professional development is working.

Daniela is also considering to apply for the computer literacy course to upgrade her skills. We have 14 participants since spring time.

Biggest advantage of the project is the real constructed bridge between youth and companies. 16 bulgarian girls and boys are already hired with our support since the spring of 2021.

The project, “Find your way to the world of work” is realized with the financial support of the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.

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