The most valuable attributes and skills an employer seeks Findings of an enquiry carried out by students from Geo Milev English Language School, Ruse February, 2017

Out of 130 students invited to do research 58 responded. Each student was asked to interview an employer he/she can easily establish contact with and ask the question: What attributes and skills do you find most valuable in your employees?

The labor market in Ruse is roughly based on small businesses and consequently, the majority of employers named attributes and skills required for vocational occupations such as:

Vocational occupations Waiter/waitress – good memory, communicative, friendly, punctual, trustworthy, patient, polite, diplomatic, concentrated, positive, quick; Guide – reliable, friendly, amusing; Taxi driver – punctual, careful, honest; Shop assistant – patient, helpful, friendly, team worker, hard-working, active, smart;

Guard – reliable, communicative, cool-headed, team worker; Seamstress – dexterous, responsible, hard- working, team worker, precise, creative; Secretary – computer literate, organized/methodical, hard-working, respectful; Manager – responsible, well-mannered, friendly, ambitious, confident, open-minded;

To sum up: The most valued attributes and skills in vocational occupations are: Hard work Ability to work in a team Communicative skills Responsible

Occupations in industry Factory worker – strong, team worker, sociable; Construction worker – hard-working, strong, responsible, flexible, cooperative; Warehouse worker – responsible, strong, reliable; Printer – dexterous, efficient, team worker;

To sum up: The most valued qualities in the field of work in industry are: Hard work Responsibility Cooperation

Occupations for University graduates who do apprenticeship or just start a career Doctor – responsible, hard-working, cold- headed; Dentist - responsible, stable, dexterous, careful, patient, team worker, friendly; Nurse – helpful, kind, calm, communicative, dedicated, respectful; Engineer – hard-working, skillful, informed, careful to detail, responsible, reliable, intelligent;

Judge - hard-working, determined, honest, open-minded, clever, educated; Lawyer – disciplined, team worker, creative, intelligent, fast thinking, meticulous, organized, convincing; Teacher – communicative, organized, able to think on his feet, team worker, patient, understanding; Accountant – organized, informed, punctual, patient, hard-working, focused;

To sum up: The most valued skills for young professionals starting their career are: Responsibility Hard work Open - mindedness and competence Communication skills

The results of the poll indicate that the most important attributes and skills for this region in Bulgaria in the world of work are: Hard work Responsibility Organization Communication skills and team work

Thank you The presentation has been done for the purposes of the Erasmus+ GROWW Project February, 2017 The project has been funded with support from the EC