Abstract:

When it comes to human resources and their capacity, there is no doubt that, both in business and in the public sectors, people are perhaps the most important capital that requires continuous training and development to respond to the ongoing changes in the environment and in the expectations of the users/ clients. It is important not only whether an organization provides opportunities for development, but also to what extent it provides funds, tools and support for achieving individual career plans through investments in trainings for knowledge expansion and/or acquiring new skills and qualifications. The ability for the personnel to achieve their career plans through trainings provided by the organization, has a strong influence not only on the motivation, but also on their commitment and loyalty to the employer. Therefore, the topic for the opportunities for professional development that employers provide through vocational trainings and how this is connected to the employees’ motivation and engagement is notably relevant and significant. The main purpose of this article is to explore the dependencies between the level of vocational trainings provisioning, motivation and engagement of the staff, based on a research conducted in Bulgaria, and to consider the possibilities and prospects for using the European Union (EU) programs for human resources development, including in the organizations from the cultural sector.

As a result of this purpose, the following research tasks are formed:
1) to study the attitudes and expectations for career development among people working under an employment contract in Bulgaria;
2) to study their desire for career development, training opportunities and the motivation and long-term engagement with the organizations;
3) to identify the specifics of the public and private sectors in Bulgaria and to highlight the presence or absence of good leadership practices in them;
4) to explore the opportunities offered by the EU for providing vocational trainings;
5) to make basic conclusions and recommendations on trainings provisioning as an opportunity to achieve organizational sustainability.

The methodology applied in the study includes analysis and synthesis of theoretical researches, a survey and analysis of the cumulated statistical data. The methods of bibliographic research, analysis and synthesis of publications on the theories of motivation and career development management in psychology and science of human resources management are also applied. The focus in the research is on the provision of trainings in the organizations in Bulgaria and the attitudes of the employees for long-term commitment with the respective employer, both in the business and in the public sectors. Based on the inferences, recommendations are developed for expanding the opportunities for vocational training through the implementation and utilization of EU programs.

Acknowledgement:
The research was carried out with the support of the NSF of MES of Bulgaria within the framework of the project "Communication Model for an Interactive Educational Environment for Continuous and Postgraduate Professional and Continuing Education in the Field of Cultural and Creative Industries", Contract № DN05/1, 14.12.2016 with head of the project Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumelina Vasileva, and is based on a wide range of bibliographic sources on the subject.

Keywords:

Career development, career management, engagement, motivation, qualification, training, vocational training.