Through the program of receiving foreign workers in Austria that are not EU citizens, people from BIH received the most number of jobs, announced the Austrian government.
According to the Ministry for Labor and Employment of Austria, from 1 July 2011 until now 3.800 permits were given out, and 517 went to BIH citizens. After BIH citizens, the most number were 385 from Russia and 343 Americans.
The Austrians said that they prefer to receive managers, experts for computer systems and athletes. However, they don’t only receive highly-qualified people. According to data from the Ministry among the 24 occupations in ‘short-supply’ are people in the construction business, such as carpenters, electricians and metalworkers.
However, according to the Austrian ‘Die Presse’, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, employers and many politicians think that the Ministry has set restrictions that are too strict, and thus fewer people are being received than is necessary for the country.
The expectation was that 8.000 permits a year would be given out, while currently around 2.000 are given out.
According to the data from the Ministry of Labor of Austria, there are four ways that BIH citizens could register for the Austrian Employment Program.
Under the general condition for key areas, there should be the necessary qualifications, age and knowledge of German. It is also necessary to receive a guarantee of the employer that the employee would make a minimum gross pay of 2.200 euros for people under 30, and 2.640 for employees above that age.
Austrian law also stipulates that the employer must prove that the job cannot be filled by an Austrian.
In another group the conditions are that the individual has the necessary skills and practical experience, and here is where the conditions are the least stringent.
The last group are foreigners at Austrian universities. If they are graduates, they have six months to find a job in Austria. If the job fits into the qualification and guarantee gross earnings of at least 1.980 euros, the graduates immediately receive a working permit.
Despite pressure to lower the criteria, the Ministry of Labor said that it does not intend to do so, because there are 12.000 highly qualified people from EU member states that find a job every year in Austria.
(Source: Nezavisne Novine)
