BRIDGE BETWEEN SCHOOL AND BUSINESS
Give Hand to Your Future!
ХХIХ INTERNATIONAL FAIR OF PRACTICE ENTERPRISES
TF FEST 2026 YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
Organizers:
Bulgarian Centre of Training Firms - Ministry of Education and Science
International Fair Plovdiv
Association Bulgarian Training Center
Participants: 124 practice enterprises from Bulgaria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia.
The participants are practice enterprises operating in various fields: banking, insurance, wholesale and retail trade in various food and non-food products; tourist services and catering; information technology and advertising; consulting services, accounting; production; education and others.
60 e-shops have been set up on the online platform of TF FEST, where the Fair visitors can make purchases online.
TF FEST 2026 is held on April, 23th and 24th 2026 in Plovdiv.
For the second year, the event will be held in a hybrid format - both live and online. Joining online the practice enterprises can conduct commercial negotiations with each other and make deals.
At the same time, online visitors can register for purchasing at TF FEST. They will receive a virtual debit card and can make purchases from the online stores of the practice enterprises.
Trade negotiations can be conducted online in Discord. Payments will be made in BUCTBANK and with debit cards.
A large number of competitions are held during TF FEST, including for the Best: stand, team and professional servicing, catalogue and advertising materials, website, presentation, protection of intellectual property, cooperation with a mentor company, Miss and Mr. TF FEST. Part of the TF FEST contests are based on assignments from real businesses, ministries and universities, and are evaluated by a jury appointed by them.
Thus, representatives of business, universities, state administration and non-governmental sector evaluate the key competences and specific skills of school and university students acquired in the practice enterprise.
A Ministry of Labor and Social Policy team will hold a Round Table for PE trainers on the topic: "Social Economy - Social and Youth Entrepreneurship".
Within Erasmus+ BRIDGE project - Bridging the Gap – Youth Work-Based Learning Cooperation with the Western Balkans our partners:
CPCD - Center for the Promotion of Civil Society, Bosnia and Herzegovina
CSO – Centar za Strucno Obrazovanje, Montenegro
ESC – School of Economics Cacak, Serbia
MESTI – Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Kosovo
PEN Worldwide - International Practice Enterprise Network, Germany
will be guests and participants in the exhibition and its competitions.
About the PRACTICE ENTERPRISES
Today, the Bulgarian Practice Enterprises Network operates with more than 330 school and university students companies around the country. Every year, 5,000 new students undergo training in a practice enterprise.
The practice enterprises /PE, UTF in Bulgaria/ are a form of practical professional training where the trainees work in a training environment, which has to be organized as close as possible to the business reality, without a real money and goods flow. At PE, professional and technical skills are acquired in the field of economics, information and communication technologies and the use of native and foreign languages for the needs of administration and business communication, as well as social skills. PE training stimulates the development of entrepreneurial spirit and creation of key competencies. The practice enterprises in Bulgaria connect the concept of traditional practical vocational education in the field of administration, trade and finance with the principles of the dual system.
The practice enterprises are registered and maintain regular communications and operations with training state institutions, simulated by the Bulgarian Centre of Training Firms /BUCT/ of the Ministry of Education and Science - Registry Agency, National Revenue Agency, Patent Office, Commission for the Protection of Personal Data, BUCTBANK. The enterprises build their internal structure, hire employees, pay taxes and social security contributions. They carry out commercial transactions and payments within the framework of the Bulgarian and the World network of practice enterprises PEN Worldwide.
In Bulgaria, practice enterprises, as a model for cooperation between education, business and the non-governmental sector has been held since 1994. With the 2009 vocational curricula, that form of practical vocational education and training became part of the compulsory curriculum of vocational schools with various specialties.