No new employees, and existing ones are leaving for Germany

The labor shortage is troubling employers in northern Croatian counties, who are increasingly turning to importing workers from third countries, and in some companies, Ukrainians, Indians, Nepalese, etc. are already working… But this is not a problem of yesterday. It has been ongoing for a whole decade, and according to data from the Croatian Employment Service, in Varaždin, Međimurje, Krapina-Zagorje, Koprivnica-Križevci, and Bjelovar-Bilogora counties, some sectors of the economy have been showing a significant labor shortage for about ten years.

These include accommodation services, food preparation and serving, construction, transport and storage, and the manufacturing industry. The highest demand for workers is in Varaždin, Krapina-Zagorje, and Međimurje counties, especially in the manufacturing industry, construction, and accommodation services and food preparation and serving. In the same counties, there is also a shortage of workers in healthcare, social care, and education. The least shortage of workers is in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, but there are not enough in healthcare, social care, and education. This problem cannot be solved by labor mobility either, as Croatian non-workers (unemployed from the HZZ registry) change their place of residence only in the summer and work during the tourist season. And that is a smaller number of them.

According to Damir Kirić, director of Gumiimpex GRP from Varaždin, the company is currently looking for vulcanizers and workers on production lines in the rubber industry. They want to hire ten people, with or without experience, if they are willing to learn and advance through work, but that is not all.

– By the end of the year, we are installing new production lines, so we will need an additional twenty people. We are posting ads on our pages, and we are looking for workers through word of mouth. We also use the Employment Service, but they cannot help us because those who are in the unemployed registry usually cannot or do not want to work in production – says Kirić.

According to him, they are also facing the departure of some workers to Germany. However, many of them return after just six months because they realize that the cost of living there is much higher, they work many more hours, and they also have to pay taxes in Croatia, so it turns out that their salary is very similar to what they earned here. To retain existing employees, Gumiimpex GRP is raising salaries, offering long-term job security and advancement opportunities, and providing other benefits. They also invest in employee education, and every year more than fifty of them complete some form of training.

Although it has been reported in the media that KTC from Križevci is looking for waiters offering salaries of up to seven thousand kuna, we learn that there are no disruptions and shortages of workers in that company, which operates in the sectors of trade, hospitality, and tourism and employs one and a half thousand workers.

Their unofficial response is that it is not unusual for hospitality workers to leave for the season, but that in other sectors they operate in, there are no special disruptions, as evidenced by the small number of job openings on the company’s website. However, in MIV, the metal industry in Varaždin, they are not exactly calm. In the next three to five years, about 30 percent of their workers (200 people) from the foundry will retire. They intend to partially solve the shortage by modernizing the foundry and the rest by importing labor. In that company, twelve Indians and Nepalese already work, and new ones will soon arrive.

The Vindija Group, which employs more than 4,280 people in Croatia and the region, is one of the few companies that currently does not have such problems.

– We are aware of the situation in the labor market, which, due to the trend of increased migration and in the context of global changes, poses new challenges for employers. However, the Vindija Group, as a desirable employer, has no problems in any of the twelve member companies and successfully deals with finding and retaining skilled and capable staff, whether they are domestic or foreign workers. Due to increased demand for products, the Vindija Group is currently hiring additional people for various positions in several companies. From seasonal workers and students in production to highly skilled personnel, all positions are quickly filled after job openings are announced, primarily thanks to good working conditions, care for employees, proactive and encouraging human resource management policies, and numerous benefits that employees receive – says Lidija Križan, director of human resources at Vindija.

Since September 2021, Vindija Group has invested more than 25 million kuna in salary increases. Employees regularly receive bonuses, Easter and Christmas bonuses, jubilee awards, and other benefits.