We are a city packed with human capital it's all about people in Stara Zagora city,
you'll find a highly trained and well motivated workforce
The population of Stara Zagora district is 311,400 people in 2020, which makes it the fifth most populous region in Bulgaria. The city of Stara Zagora is the administrative centre and the economic and cultural focal point of the district. In 2020, it had 125,732 inhabitants and ranked sixth in the country in terms of population. Together with its municipality, Stara Zagora had a population of 152,956 people in 2020, accounting for half of the district’s total population. The age structure in the city of Stara Zagora remains the most favourable in the district.
As far as workforce size is concerned, the city of Stara Zagora is the undisputed centre of the district with 76,948 inhabitants within the working age as of -2020. Kazanlak has the second largest workforce pool with 27,814, followed by Chirpan with 7,741 and Radnevo with 6,936 residents in working age. The rest of the smaller towns in the district together have a working-age population of 10,455 people.
The commuting area of Stara Zagora also includes two important towns outside the administrative borders of the district – Dimitrovgrad and Nova Zagora, which together add more than 30,000 people to the potential labour force in the district. Overall, more than 83,000 working-age residents live in the Stara Zagora commuting zone. In addition, more than 14,750 district residents aged 15-19 represent potential new entrants in the regional labour force in the short to medium term.
Approximately 152 956 people live in the Stara Zagora Municipality. Another 158 444 people live in close proximity to Stara Zagora city (30 min. from Downtown).
The city is accessible for 1 hour by another 116 486 people (Yambol).
Additional labour resources from outside the administrative borders of the district came from Haskovo (60 km), Nova Zagora (32 km) and Dimitrovgrad (46 km) - 166 270 people.
An excellent labour force and efficient production processes have led to an increase in productivity - higher than labour costs - over the past decade.
With the working age population representing 58.2% of the district\'s total population in 2020, Stara Zagora is close to the national average share of 59.8%.
| Age | Number | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | 62 00 | 20% |
| 20-44 | 93 000 | 30% |
| 45-64 | 88 000 | 28% |
| 65-74 | 41 000 | 13% |
| 75+ | 30 000 | 10% |
180 823
Gross monthly wages BGN 1295 in 2020
BGN 1468 national avarage
Quarterly data in 2021 are stable and shows no increase compared to other region
The city Stara Zagora at the bottom of district's salary ranking
BGN 1,010
Mining and electricity sectors with highest wages
| Economic activities | BGN |
|---|---|
| Production and distribution of electricity and heat and gaseous fuels | 28999 |
| Mining industry | 23558 |
| Creation and dissemination of information and creative products; telecommunications | 17626 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 15625 |
| Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activites | 15332 |
| Education | 15331 |
| Government management | 14677 |
| Manufacturing industry | 13466 |
| Culture, sport and entertainment | 13302 |
| Human health and social work | 13184 |
| Professional activities and research | 11723 |
| Construction | 11224 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 10904 |
| Real estate operations | 10685 |
| Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 9909 |
| Transport, storage and communications | 9256 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 9249 |
| Other activities | 8868 |
| Hotels and restaurants | 7526 |
| Total | 13914 |
Quarterly data in 2021 shows increase in the monthly level of the salary in other regions like Burgas, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Rousse while in Stara Zagora they have been kept constant.
Municipal data shows a rare phenomenon - the administrative centre Stara Zagora which is the largest city in the district, is close to the bottom of the district’s salary ranking. In 2019, the highest monthly gross salary in the district was reported in Radnevo, followed by Galabovo.
The structure of the economy in these two municipalities is almost exclusively dominated by mining and energy corporations. Kazanlak, with its relatively strong industrial profile, comes next with BGN 1,088, while in city of Stara Zagora and its municipality the average monthly gross salary amounted to BGN 1,010, which is the level as in Chirpan and slightly above that in Maglizh, Nikolaevo and the rural municipalities.
1st year
The state pays 90% of the gross salary, up to a fixed amount
As of 1st of April 2022 the Minimum wage will be BGN 710
2nd year
The state pays BGN 650 per month
3rd year
Without pay
Sufficient manpower in working age at commutable distance one of the country leading district by number of people employed in manufacturing. Concentration of employment in machine building and “heavy” industries.
Companies that choose Stara Zagora as their investment destination will have access to a large pool of human capital. More than 14,750 district residents aged 15-19 represent potential new entrants in the regional labour force in the short to medium term. In September 2021 there are still 5 800 registered as unemployed in the age group 15-64. Additionally, companies in Stara Zagora will benefit from a great number of well-trained employees: More than 80 percent of the workforce has received a formal vocational training, is in possession of a trade or technical school certificate or an academic degree.
The labour force in Stara Zagora is very diverse in terms of employee’s qualification/professional skills. Stara Zagora employs more than 25 500 executives, specialists and supportive administrative workers, as well as approximately 9 000 technicians, 20 500 skilled strongly industrial workers and 16 000 machine operators and assemblers.
The labour force is specialized but easily adaptable to transit between different sectors segments of industrial production. Mostly men occupy professions that require technical qualifications as well as those related to machine management and installation, while women occupy professions such as specialists.
40 hight school in region
19 vocational high school in the Municipality
36 vocational training centers in the region
1 university - over 5400 students
1 technical college
Over 33 382 pupils in the region
Over 7480 students in the City
Stara Zagora district is a home of two accredited higher education institutions – Trakia University in Stara Zagora and the Technical College in Kazanlak, affiliated with the Technical University in Sofia. Trakia University located in the city of Stara Zagora, is member of the International Association of Universities (IAU). There are five faculties in the University: Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture, Educations, Economics, Technics and Technologies - situated in the city of Yambol – one-hour distance away from Stara Zagora.
The university conducts training in the following specialties as follows:
- In the Master's degree after secondary education: Veterinary Medicine and Medicine;
- In the Bachelor's degree: Agronomy (Agriculture), Agronomy (Essential Oil Crops), Agricultural Engineering, Zooengineering, Ecology and Environmental Protection, Fish Farming and Aquaculture, Midwife, Nurse, Social Care, Health Care, Health Management rehabilitation and occupational therapy, Medical assistant, Preschool and primary school pedagogy, Primary school pedagogy with a foreign language, Social pedagogy, Special pedagogy, Pedagogy of information technology education, Pedagogy of education in fine arts and graphic design, Business Economics, Business Economics Agricultural Economics and Trade, Regional Economics, Agricultural Economics, Local Finance, Information Technology in Economics and Management, Automotive and Agricultural Engineering, Design, Technology and Management of the Fashion Industry, Automation and Computer Systems, Electrical Engineering, Heat and Gas Supply, Industrial Engineering, Food technology;
- In the "Professional Bachelor" degree: Rehabilitator, Medical Laboratory Assistant, Assistant Pharmacist, Medical Cosmetician and Medical Optician.
Out of them, only Trakia University offers majors directly relevant to the sourcing industry – Economics and Electronics and Automation. According to the latest Ministry of Education university rating system, Trakia University rank eighth in Bulgaria in Electronics and Automation and 13th in Economics in 2020.
Trakia University is a member of multiple international education organisations, including International Association of Universities, European University Association and European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW).
In order to increase its competitiveness in the STEM field, Trakia University launched in 2020 four new majors - Software Engineering, Information Technologies, Computer Systems and Communications and Information Technologies in Economics and Management. The planned annual admission in these majors will exceed 170 students.
In the 2020/2021 school year the number of students enrolled in universities in Stara Zagora district stood at 5,446, of which 2,580 were enrolled in bachelor degree specialisations and 2,464 in specialisations with a master’s degree. A total of 402 people were studying in colleges. Another 1,118 students graduated in 2020 – 488 of them with a master’s degree, 505 bachelors and 125 people with a professional bachelor degree. The number of new admissions in 2020 exceeded 1,700, in line with the continuing trend of increase in the number of students in the region
More than 33,300 pupils were enrolled last year. In secondary education alone, 12,412 students were enrolled, including 7,480 in professional schools and 4,932 in general secondary schools. In the city of Stara Zagora and its municipality 14 secondary schools offer education focused on technical, IT, mathematical and foreign language areas. In 2020 a new professional school for computer science and mathematical analyses was opened, which is a sign of the district’s intentions to keep up with the STEM education trends. Secondary school graduates numbered 2,072 in 2020. Out of them, 1,157 graduated from professional schools and 915 from general secondary schools. More than half, or 1,215 students, graduated from schools in the city of Stara Zagora. At least 25% of all secondary school graduates in the district are potential workforce for the sourcing industry.
Stara Zagora was one of the first cities to successfully introduce the dual form of education. In the city are three vocational high schools ,which operate with dual system of education. The educational institutions have concluded contracts with partner companies, in which the students from 11th and 12th grade study according to a schedule in the enterprises on certain days of the week. Students sign an employment contract and receive remuneration for the days worked. A total of 300 students study under this system. The model of dual education has been introduced in several schools in the city of Stara Zagora, which is being worked on in the following professional fields:
In support of the development of vocational education for 9 years the Municipality of Stara Zagora and the Regional Department of Education, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Employers' Club, organize a Regional Panorama of Vocational Education and Career Guidance. opportunities for students who choose secondary education.
1 742
2 125
790
The labour force in Stara Zagora is very diverse in terms of employee’s qualification/professional skills. Stara Zagora employs more than 25 500 executives, specialists and supportive administrative workers, as well as approximately 9 000 technicians, 20 500 skilled strongly industrial workers and 16 000 machine operators and assemblers. The labour force is specialized but easily adaptable to transit between different sectors segments of industrial production. Mostly men occupy professions that require technical qualifications (15%) as well as those related to machine management and installation (12%), while women occupy professions such as specialists (10%).
