Education and Work: (Un-) equal Transitions

with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe

Conference organized by the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the University of Basel

Thursday-Friday, 24-25 September 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia University, 15 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd, 1504 Sofia

New Conference Room (North Wing, 2nd floor)

Conference Agenda

Thursday, September 24 2015

08:30 Registration and coffee

09:00 Welcome:

Rumiana Stoilova, Christian Imdorf

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Science

09:45 Keynote Speaker: Irena Kogan (University of Mannheim):

Contesting the uncontested: The role of vocational education in school-to- work transitions

10:30 Break

11:00 Session 1 - Migration

Moderator Christian Imdorf

Rumiana Stoilova, Elitsa Dimitrova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia):

Emigration in the Perspective of the Search for a First Job in Bulgaria

Marina Richter (University of Fribourg, Switzerland):

Bulgarian youth studying and working abroad: migration as a pressure valve for unattractive job prospects

12:30 Lunch at the Alma Mater Restaurant at Sofia University

14:00 Session 2 - Stratification and Educational Transitions

Moderator Franziska Bieri

Pepka Boyadjeva and Petya Ilieva-Trichkova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia):

Institution matters: Horizontal differentiation of upper-secondary education and students’ transitions after leaving high school

Valentina Barcucci (International Labor Organization):

Labour market transitions of young women and men in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

16:00 Break

16:30-18:30 Session 3 – Stratification and School to Work Transitions

Moderator Pepka Boyadjieva

Siyka Kovacheva and Gergana Dimitrova (Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria):

Social inequalities in the educational transitions of Bulgarian youth

Sorin Mitulescu, Ana Maria Dalu, Ancuta Plaesu (Institute of Education Sciences, Bucharest):

Romanian NEETs: barriers to entry into the labor market

Alexey Pamporov (Institute for the study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia):

Roma youth on the labour market

19:00 Dinner at Manastirska Magernitsa, 67 Khan Asparuh Str.

Friday, September 25 2015

09:00 Policy Session

Moderator Irina Nedeva (Bulgarian National Radio)

Eva Paunova, European MEP

Mariana Todorova, Bulgarian MP

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies

Address from the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Natalia Georgieva UNICEF:

NEETs in Bulgaria: Status and Profile

Maria Jeliazkova (Institute for the study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia):

Youth Inclusion Policies

10:15 Break

10:45 Policy Session

Moderator Irina Nedeva (Bulgarian National Radio)

Anna Delibasheva, Director of Directorate “European funds and international projects”

Genoveva Bakardjieva, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Association for People Management

Petia Evtimova, Team Leader, PMU Swiss Support for the Introduction of Dual Track Principles in Bulgaria Vocational Education System

12:00 Lunch at the Alma Mater Restaurant at Sofia University

13:30 Session 4 – Tertiary Education and Labour Market Experiences

Moderator Petia Ilieva

Dominik Buttler (Poznan University of Economics, Poland):

Is it Worth to Study Two Majors? The Case of Poland

Krzysztof Wasielewski (Nicolaus Copernicus University Torun, Poland):

Polish students studying strategies in the context of the labour market

15:30 Break

16:00 Session 5 - Educational Offers and Social Structure

Moderator Rumiana Stoilova

Lachezar Nyagolov (Institute for the study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia):

Effects of the Social Origin on the Educational Decisions and Labour Market Entry in Bulgaria

Christian Imdorf and Franziska Bieri (University of Basel):

Educational Permeability and Gender Segregation

18:00 Closing remarks - Rumiana Stoilova Christian Imdorf