Transnational seminar in Sofia
16/11/2020
The third international seminar of the project "Good wood" was held in virtual mode. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the event, which brought together about 60 participants from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal.
BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov said that the project partners have created excellent cooperation and a working network of organizations, thanks to which the goals set at the beginning have been met. These include: strengthening social dialogue, reorganizing production and management in the logging and processing sectors, both at national and EU level.
Annalisa Guidotti, Director of Communications and International Relations at the Italian Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, stressed that the circular economy covered by the project is key to the success of SMEs and the realization of those working in the sector.
The topic of the seminar - "The role of training in creating employment in the EU" was discussed by experts from Bulgaria, Italy and Belgium. Issues related to the sub-topics were discussed: labor market, employment training, innovative approaches, training in the logging and woodworking sectors, etc.
Asen Angelov, an expert from Bulgaria, presented the main trends on the labor market in the logging and wood processing sector in the country, which are strongly influenced by the changes at European level. According to him, these sectors have reached the limit of their employment and the potential for hiring more workers is very small. They are characterized by predominant human strength, some mechanization but weak automation. Angelov noted that increasing employment can be expected in subsectors such as treatment of secondary materials, recycling and treatment of logging waste, etc. The main conclusions that have been drawn for the future of the timber sectors are:
Emphasis will be placed on sustainable and ecodesign of wooden products. Reuse of the products and the materials from which they are made will be applied more and more. More careful selection of raw materials is needed. The raw materials and materials are to be replaced with more sustainable ones. Requirements for new skills in hiring workers are entering. The divergence and distance between the jobs created and those that are lost continues. Common policies are needed to meet the needs of the logging and woodworking sectors with qualified staff with new skills. Ivaylo Tsochev, head of the Bulgarian company Wero Waste, presented various creative ways to reduce waste. Genoveva Hristova, head of the Bulgarian Furniture Cluster, also took part in the event by presenting some aspects of the Bulgarian furniture sector, as well as the importance of training, raising the qualification of its employees and employment opportunities. She stressed that the cluster seeks to present the sector with a new vision that is attractive to young people - to work and identify with it. The partners from LC Support also presented their experience in terms of training aimed at sustainability. Marguerite Micheli, a representative of the European Confederation of Wood Processing Enterprises, gave an overview of the Green Deal and what it means for businesses, business support organizations and workers.
The results of the Good Wood project were also briefly presented during the event by Isabella Condino, project manager. The partners 'efforts were focused on finding good green practices in the woodworking and logging sector, analysis of the countries' markets, participants, recommendations and a series of events.
The final event of the Good Wood project, organized by the European Confederation of Wood Processing Enterprises, is expected on December 9, 2020 in a virtual format. Additional information about the event can be found soon here: