MODELLING INVOLUNTARY PART-TIME AND FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS IN BULGARIA

Abstract

With the labour market becoming increasingly flexible, there has been a growing trend towards non-standard models of temporary employment that allow persons who, for some reason, prefer fixed-term or part-time employment to earn income. Hence, some EU member states have been employing policies and measures to facilitate the access to flexible employment at all levels within organizations, including access to vocational training, so as to provide better career growth and professional mobility opportunities. Furthermore, some categories of employees and workers do not enter into similar employment arrangements voluntarily but are forced to do so by a number of factors such as family commitments, age or disability constraints, education and training, the need to relocate, cyclical economic crises, etc. We propose a methodology for studying the voluntary/involuntary character of two major types of flexible employment – part-time and fixedterm employment, from the perspective of employees, employers and the labour market. The focus of attention is on the groups exposed to the highest risk on the national labour market, i.e. young people aged 15-29 and adults aged 55-64.