The Digital National Alliance (DNA) is the Bulgarian National Coalition and a member of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition. Founded in 2013, the Bulgarian National Coalition brings together businesses, ICT professionals, government and education sectors together, to address shortages in the ICT labour market.
The Digital National Alliance aims to encourage the use of digital technology amongst the Bulgarian population in order to support the development of the ICT sector in Bulgaria and streamline the country’s digital potential. DNA has four main goals:
- Breaking stereotypes associated with technology, programming and innovation and promoting understanding of these fields
- Supporting the acquisition of basic digital skills on a national level and fostering an improved overall digital competency for all Bulgarian citizens
- Improving women’s access to careers within the ICT sector and technology in general
- Stimulating creative digital education for children from an early age.
The Bulgarian National Alliance also brings together a wide range of stakeholders from all economic sectors, in order to address current and future challenges in a proactive way. Despite the rapid development of the ICT sector in Bulgaria during the recent years, staff shortage means a number of positions go unfilled. What is more, with 95% of occupations now requiring at least a basic level of digital competence, there is an urgent need for action on a national level: according to DNA’s estimations, only 35% of Bulgarian citizens are digitally competent, and only 1.7% are employed within the ICT sector.
