Serbia is experiencing a rapid increase in the number of foreign workers, with numbers for the first six months of 2023 reaching almost the entire total of 2022, official data from Serbia’s National Employment Service finds.
Last year, 35,000 foreign workers found jobs in Serbia, while 30,000 did so in the first months of 2023, mainly in industry, construction and skilled trades, according to figures from the Employment Service.
“Additionally, many work permits have been issued to IT professionals. Furthermore, foreigners are also employed as auxiliary workers in various sectors of the economy, service industries, hospitality, and hotel management,” the National Employment Service told EURACTIV.
Miloš Turinski from the employment platform Poslovi Infostud told EURACTIV that “What is certain is that Serbia is developing its infrastructure, and there will always be a shortage of workers here. They will continue to come as long as work continues at this pace.”
But he says this trend could pose problems for the domestic workforce.
“The first problem is that in recent decades we have seen many skilled workers leave for the West. In addition, we have a big problem with young people who do not want to go into the skilled trades or further their education in these areas. The third problem is that the qualified workforce that remains in our labour market is not sufficient for our needs, resulting in increased service costs and delays that we haven’t experienced before, such as in painting or car mechanics,” Turinski explains.
To address this situation, Serbia needs to start with education and promote lower-skilled and trade professions among children and their parents, he added.
“These professions have been sidelined for decades as physically demanding, poorly paid and unappreciated jobs. But by 2015, these jobs were coming to the fore. We have data showing that demand for people with secondary vocational education is higher than for people with university degrees,” said Turinski.
“We need to raise awareness that these jobs can provide employment and good earnings. We are in a situation where schools in Serbia are closing certain vocational programmes because young people do not have enough interest in learning trades.” Turinski concludes.
(Jelena Jevtić/EURACTIV.rs)
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