Telenor Backs Youth Employment

Telenor presented preliminary results of the implementation of the Telenor Bulgaria in Support of Youth Employment project, financed by the Human Resources Development Operational Programпе and co-financed by the EU’s European Social Fund.

During the project, a total of 36 unemployed young men and women gained practical experience and working skills in a real business environment. The project budget covered all training expenses as well as participants’ remuneration up to the minimal social insurance threshold and all related social insurance payments. The contract duration of the employment was 12 months and the total project value was set at BGN 374,527.36.

Project participants were selected after extensive interviews at Sofia unemployment offices with more than 120 candidates. Selected participants underwent training courses before joining Telenor business operations. All candidates who opted to continue with the project after the training were offered regular employment contracts as shop administrators for a period of one year or until end-April 2015, depending on the date of employment.

„We are pleased Telenor was approved for this programme as it gave us an opportunity to give a chance to unemployed youths to obtain key competences and skill in real-life business environment which will believe will be beneficial for their competitiveness on the market. The performance of the project participants was very much up to our standards and many of them will be offered permanent employment with Telenor“, said Mrs. Lilia Vladimirova, Telenor Shared HR |Services Center Manager, who also managed the project.

The inclusion of Telenor in the New Jobs scheme is just another company initiative in support of the youth employment in Bulgaria.

Telenor recently launched its annual Internship Programme. As part of the initiative, Telenor will provide students from various Bulgarian universities with the opportunity to gain professional experience in the field of telecommunications. This year, the company is looking for trainees in the following professional areas: Regulations, Marketing, Radio and Telecommunications, Public Relations, Customer Care, Human Resources and Administration, Information Technology.

The Internship Programme, now in its 12^th year will kick off in the beginning of July. The two-month internship in the company is paid. The Internship Programme which is held for the 12^th consecutive year is among the most successful Telenor youth initiatives. So far, it involved more than 400 students from Bulgarian and foreign universities as nearly 30% of them later joined the company’s team of professionals. Since the start of the programme in 2004, the telecom has invested over 1 million leva in the development and support of young talents in Bulgaria.

Telenor is a leading telecommunication company with 3.9 million active subscribers in Bulgaria. As of end-2014, the company’s services are available to 99.98% of Bulgaria’s population, covering over 99.50% of the country’s territory, and Telenor UMTS network covers 98.66% of the population. By November 4, 2014, the company operated under the GLOBUL brand. Since August 1, 2013, it has been a part of Telenor Group which operates in 13 countries in Europe and Asia and has over 186 million subscribers.