Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, met with representatives of the Bulgarian business community during a roundtable discussion organized by AIBEST.
June 17, 2025, Sofia. Over 40% of students in Bulgaria do not reach even the basic level of skills necessary to apply in real-life and professional contexts. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, if all 15-year-olds in the country were to achieve at least basic skills, Bulgaria could unlock long-term economic potential worth $434 billion - more than three times its current GDP.
The findings were presented by Andreas Schleicher, director for Education and Skills at OECD and the creator of the international PISA study during the event titled “Education and Skills: Preparing for the Future of Work”, hosted by the Association for Innovation, Business Services and Technology (AIBEST).
The event brought together leaders from the business and education community to discuss how global transformations, automation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the skills required in today’s labor market - and what policies and partnerships are needed to better prepare students and workers for the future.
In his presentation, Andreas Schleicher highlighted that education systems are increasingly struggling to keep up with the realities of the modern world. “What is easy to teach and test is also easy to digitize and automate - meaning that those who rely on such skills are disappearing from the labor market”, he stated. Therefore, he emphasized that education systems must shift focus from preparing students to reproduce information toward fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability.
“The economic cost of low learning outcomes is simply astonishing”, Schleicher noted. He also pointed out that success in today’s economy depends not so much on diplomas, but on actual competencies. “Most of what people earn depends on what they know and what they can do with that knowledge”. Many people, he warned, are “overqualified but under-skilled”, which contributes to increasing polarization in society.
Ilia Krastev, AIBEST Board Member opened the event with a call for greater alignment between public policy and the real economy. “Real change will come when business, government, and education institutions work together - and when decisions are based on data, not intuition”, he said.
Natalia Miteva, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science, highlighted the importance of strategic partnership with the OECD. “Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of leading the partnership between the Ministry and Andreas Schleicher’s team - one of the most influential thought leaders in education. What makes OECD powerful is that it doesn't work only with data - it works with people like you: current and future leaders who will shape the high added value of the Bulgarian economy”, she told attendees.
The event also featured a roundtable discussion with representatives from leading companies and associations representing Bulgaria’s high-tech economy. The discussed topics included the need for a national skills strategy, the role of business as a partner in education, and how data can be leveraged to develop skills policies for both within school education and lifelong learning for adults.
Schleicher concluded that true transformation in education starts not with the question “what should we teach”, but with “why are we teaching it”. “Whatever we do, it must build motivation and personal responsibility”, he said.
He called for systemic change in which business plays an active role - not just as an employer, but as a creator of learning environments. Only then can Bulgaria tap into the full potential of its human capital in an economy where skills are the currency of the future.
June 17, 2025, Sofia. Over 40% of students in Bulgaria do not reach even the basic level of skills necessary to apply in real-life and professional contexts. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, if all 15-year-olds in the country were to achieve at least basic skills, Bulgaria could unlock long-term economic potential worth $434 billion - more than three times its current GDP.
The findings were presented by Andreas Schleicher, director for Education and Skills at OECD and the creator of the international PISA study during the event titled “Education and Skills: Preparing for the Future of Work”, hosted by the Association for Innovation, Business Services and Technology (AIBEST).
The event brought together leaders from the business and education community to discuss how global transformations, automation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the skills required in today’s labor market - and what policies and partnerships are needed to better prepare students and workers for the future.
In his presentation, Andreas Schleicher highlighted that education systems are increasingly struggling to keep up with the realities of the modern world. “What is easy to teach and test is also easy to digitize and automate - meaning that those who rely on such skills are disappearing from the labor market”, he stated. Therefore, he emphasized that education systems must shift focus from preparing students to reproduce information toward fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability.
“The economic cost of low learning outcomes is simply astonishing”, Schleicher noted. He also pointed out that success in today’s economy depends not so much on diplomas, but on actual competencies. “Most of what people earn depends on what they know and what they can do with that knowledge”. Many people, he warned, are “overqualified but under-skilled”, which contributes to increasing polarization in society.
Ilia Krastev, AIBEST Board Member opened the event with a call for greater alignment between public policy and the real economy. “Real change will come when business, government, and education institutions work together - and when decisions are based on data, not intuition”, he said.
Natalia Miteva, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science, highlighted the importance of strategic partnership with the OECD. “Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of leading the partnership between the Ministry and Andreas Schleicher’s team - one of the most influential thought leaders in education. What makes OECD powerful is that it doesn't work only with data - it works with people like you: current and future leaders who will shape the high added value of the Bulgarian economy”, she told attendees.
The event also featured a roundtable discussion with representatives from leading companies and associations representing Bulgaria’s high-tech economy. The discussed topics included the need for a national skills strategy, the role of business as a partner in education, and how data can be leveraged to develop skills policies for both within school education and lifelong learning for adults.
Schleicher concluded that true transformation in education starts not with the question “what should we teach”, but with “why are we teaching it”. “Whatever we do, it must build motivation and personal responsibility”, he said.
He called for systemic change in which business plays an active role - not just as an employer, but as a creator of learning environments. Only then can Bulgaria tap into the full potential of its human capital in an economy where skills are the currency of the future.
