Trades that used to be the main source of income for many are slowly dying out every day. Today, there are fewer and fewer people engaged in these jobs, and workers are almost impossible to find. Young people increasingly decide to leave the country, schools offer courses adapted to the needs of the market, and businessmen and craftsmen, among other things, face daily price increases.
Bihac is no exception, which today has only one watchmaker, one goldsmith who produces jewelry in the traditional way. There are only two shoemakers left in Bihac…
The crafts that were the pride of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) bazaars are increasingly losing the battle to new technologies. While they were once passed down from generation to generation, today they are dying out.
”Technology has not only changed the clock but also changed the way of thinking among young people. Now, why make something that can be learned at the push of a button? Why waste time fixing something you find everywhere you turn? People agree to make it if it has some sentimental value or if it is an heirloom, which in 90% of cases it is,” watchmaker Dinko Hadzic says.
In addition to modern technologies that advance every day, what further endangers the work of craftsmen are daily price increases. For example, when the price of gold is on the rise, jewelry in jewelry stores becomes more expensive. Due to high prices, demand is low.
”Our business is luxurious. Jewelry is always at the bottom of the list of priorities. People meet basic life needs first, bills are paid, and jewelry has become a great luxury. Luckily, we mostly do jewelry repair and maintenance services and that’s it,” points out goldsmith Tenzil Sehic.
With the negative trends of leaving the country and constant price increases, it is almost impossible to find workers, although many employers say that there are still some. If there are some, why do employers have a hard time finding them?
”There are workers in Bihac, but in 90% of cases, they are unemployed who are kept in the Employment Service and work illegally. Unfortunately, they prefer to work that way, rather than with me for a salary and to get good seniority. I was looking for a worker for three months and I found one from Croatia. Now we are waiting for a work permit, since the procedure is as if he comes from Switzerland, with a foreign language, so we have to wait two months for a work permit,” says the owner of the hair salon, Sandra Alagic.
Taking into account all the negative trends due to which businessmen and craftsmen are still recovering, nine million BAM have been allocated through economic support programs in the last two years. This year, around 450 businesses were supported with more than five million BAM.
”Here, a much larger amount of 5.3 million will be invested in the economy. Fifty percent of the investment will also be made by businessmen. It will be ten million that will go through the economy and economic subjects, and in the next two years we will feel the results of the work,” says Samra Mehic, Minister of Economy of the Una-Sana Canton (USC).
However, in order for the trades to survive, aid to the economy must be regular, because once they put a padlock on the lock, the financial injection they are now giving them will not be enough to open the door again.
The help of the relevant ministry to craftsmen and businessmen managed to prevent the closure of certain trades, but this is not a long-term solution, because there is a lack of labor and it now has to be imported.
”We had and will have more meetings with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the ministry to try to find a way to introduce the workforce. We have reached a situation where we will have to import labor,” pointed out Enes Arapovic, president of the Chamber of Crafts of the USC.
At the moment, there is mostly interest in schools such as mechanics, electricians, welders, and CNC operators, who after finishing high school are mostly good, hardworking, and respected workers, but somewhere in countries with a regulated system, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
