Programme

09.00 – 09.30  |  Welcome coffee

09.30 – 09.50  |  Welcome address

• Mr Jacek KRAWCZYK, President, EESC Employers' Group, Poland
• Mr Bojidar DANEV, President in rotation of the Association of the organizations of the Bulgarian Employers, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, Vice-President of BusinessEurope, Member of the EESC Employers' Group

09.50 – 10.45  |  High-level opening session

09.50 – 10.10  |  Welcome address by Mrs Lilyana PAVLOVA, Minister for the Presidency

10.10 – 10.30  |  Opening speech by Mrs Iliana IOTOVA, Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria  

10.30  - 10.45  |  Mr Hassan ADEMOV, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on labour, social and demographic policies

10.45 – 11.00 | Coffee break

11.00 – 12.45 | Panel 1 – Skills challenges in the knowledge-based economy

Panellists:

• Dr James CALLEJA, Director European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)
• Mrs Vladimíra DRBALOVÁ, Member of the EESC Employers' Group, Senior Advisor for International Organisations and EU Affairs to the Director General of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (SPČR)
• Mr Thomas MAYR, Head of IBW (Institut für Bildungsforschung der Wirtschaft), Austrian Economic Chambers
• Mrs Ivana RADOMIROVA, Executive Director of the Union of brewers in Bulgaria
• Dr Tomcho TOMOV, Head of the National Centre for Assessment of Competence with the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber

Moderator: Mr. Rumen RADEV, Economic Director of Holding Zagora Ltd., Vice-chairman of the Governing Board of BICA

Q&A session

12.45 – 14.15  |  Networking lunch

14.15 – 16.00 |  Panel 2 – How to overcome the imbalance between supply and demand on the labour market?

Panellists:

• Mr Arnaldo ABRUZZINI, Chief Executive Officer of EUROCHAMBRES  
• Dr Barbara DORN, Head of the Education and Training department,  Confederation of German Employers' Associations BDA
• Mr Michael MORIARTY, President of the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE)
• Mr Sergej SHARDIN, dipl. eng. ,Managing Director ATM Electronics Ltd

Moderator: Mrs Jana VELICHKOVA, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Soft Drinks Association

Q&A session

16.00 -16.30 | Keynote speech

Mrs Zornitsa RUSINOVA, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Policy

16.30 – 17.00 | Concluding remarks

Mrs Christa SCHWENG, president-elect of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC), Member of the EESC Employers' Group