The lack of qualified workforce in the Macedonian economy is increasingly evident, and the labor market imbalance is a challenge for businessmen, said the press conference of the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce (SSK). The Vice President of the Union Aleksandar Miloshevski noted that after consultation with the sectoral and regional chambers, it was noted that in all sectors skilled workers are missing, especially in construction, industry, tourism, services, as well as in private health care.
“Consolidated assessment is needed for the needs of the economy and human potentials in the country with the possibility of retraining, and a long-term strategic change of the overall obstruction system. Educational reforms and curricula should follow the needs of the economy and adequately direct the future staff to be active in the labor market. Only in this way would they have a functioning system. Also, following the example of Western countries such as Germany, Austria, one of the possible solutions is the introduction of a dual system of secondary vocational education or learning through work with systemic support and subsidies for students who would opt for this type of education, Miloshevski and added that the economy in the Union is ready to follow all the reforms that would improve the staff in the companies, and hence the productivity of the company itself.
According to the analysis, the top five most sought-after positions are sales, drivers, distributors, couriers, staff in catering, commercialists and warehouse workers. The industries are the most sought-after persons for work in the retail, catering, IT, commerce and distribution industry as well as manufacturing.
“The lack of people with vocational secondary education, but also of engineers and medical personnel, is evident. In that direction, professional orientation of students is still necessary in elementary education and promotion of secondary vocational schools and occupations. Integrated co-operation of all stakeholders for proper addressing for the needs of a skilled workforce is needed, reaching both the students and the parents. We believe that this is the only way to reduce the gap between the needs and the supply on the labor market, “Miloshevski said.
In order to be more productive and more profitable for the company, in addition to technological competitiveness, an important segment is precisely the employees of quality staff, their motivation and motivation for further education, specialization for expanding the existing and acquiring new knowledge in order to contribute as much as possible to the realization of organizational goals.
The Macedonian Chambers of Commerce is involved in the programs and informs companies about the opportunities offered by the EU, such as the Erasmus Plus 2014-2020 program, and further the government measures from the operational plan, but emphasize that more work is needed in this field in the direction of development of companies and retention of the working population in the country.
