The “Global Libraries – Bulgaria” Foundation implements the E-skills for E-inclusion project, the main goal of which is to develop a computer literacy training program for vulnerable groups in order to facilitate their access to the labor market. The project is implemented in partnership with 5 other organizations from Northern Ireland, Spain, Italy and Romania and is financed with funds from the European Erasmus+ program.

The development of technology in recent decades has not only reformulated the way of doing business, but also significantly affects the labor market throughout the European Union. Overcoming the emerging discrepancy between the needs of the market and the available digital skills of the workforce is a key priority in the long-term and medium-term strategies of the European Commission and in the sectoral policies of individual countries. Despite efforts, statistics show that a significant percentage of Europeans lack basic digital skills and/or have never used the Internet.
Taking into account these trends at the European level, the partners set themselves several main tasks in the implementation of this project:

• Develop and implement innovative inclusive adult learning methods to enhance the basic digital skills of vulnerable groups, including new curricula, courses and accompanying learning materials and tools;
• Expanding and certifying the competencies of trainers for more effective conducting of computer literacy courses for vulnerable groups;
• Development and implementation of innovative tools to assess the acquired digital skills of the trained representatives of vulnerable groups;
• Development of a multilingual web portal for computer literacy teachers;

In Bulgaria, FGBB implements the project with the active participation of 4 regional libraries:

RB “P.R. Slaveykov” – Veliko Tarnovo
RB “Hristo Botev” – Vratsa
RB “Hristo Smirnenski” – Haskovo
RB “Stiliyan Chilingirov” – Shumen

The project has a duration of 3 years. During this period, the ICT specialists from the four regional libraries will be part of an international team involved in the development of the online training program in terms of structure and content (in the first year), development of an evaluation methodology for measuring training results and pilot testing of the program with representatives of vulnerable groups in the relevant library.