The new construction season has just begun, and firms are again facing the problem of a shortage of workers. There are almost no trained carpenters, locksmiths, ceramists, painters …. Our workers are taken away by companies from Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, offering them higher pay and better conditions, according to Avaz news portal.
They have no experience
The situation is very difficult, confirmed by the President of the Union of Construction and Industry of Bosnia-Herzegovina Mahir Semic, who said that domestic companies in the construction season will lack the most skilled and skilled workforce.
“There are workers at the bureau, but these are all young people with no experience. And if one of them gets a job, as soon as he has the basic skills, he leaves Bosnia because they offer him much better conditions and security in the workplace,” says Semic. According to official data for 2018, more than 13,600 workers have left to Slovenia, of which about 70 percent are construction workers.
“Employers are trying to retain workers by increasing wages. The current average salary in construction is 606 BAM. But not only employers can retain workers, the state must do something. We train the workers, get the experts and then they leave, which is devastating. If the state loosened a little and reduced its obligations, it would certainly be easier,” Semic said.
Fewer papers
Data from the Agency for Statistics of BiH show that the value of construction works of BiH companies abroad for the first nine months of 2019 was 5.1 percent lower than in the same period a year earlier. “Several factors may be the cause of this decline, but the lack of a skilled and trained workforce is probably the key, “Semic said.
932 BAM average net salary paid in BiH
643 BAM average paid net salary in construction in BiH
€ 2,400 The average salary of a skilled construction worker in Germany
EUR 1,200 The average salary of an auxiliary construction worker in Germany
€ 2,380 The average salary of a construction worker in Sweden
€ 1,560 average salary of a construction worker in Austria
