Bottleneck Vacancies in Poland

Transcription

1 Bottleneck Vacancies in Poland Construction and transport sector most affected by recruiting difficulties According to the results of the latest representative survey conducted in 2012, 76% of the employers had difficulties with finding adequate candidates to fill their staffing needs. The highest proportions of bottleneck vacancies are located in the construction, transport and the service sector. With the exception of vacancies for ICT professionals, which have seen a slight improvement, all bottlenecks have worsened or remained at similar levels since 2008, revealing a structural nature of shortages. Unmet demand for skilled manual workers Bottleneck vacancies within the construction sector relate to jobs for manual and skilled workers (brick layers, plasterers) as well as to highly skilled civil engineers. Transport companies have experienced severe difficulties with filling vacancies for heavy truck and lorry drivers, while employers operating in the service sector find it difficult to fill vacancies for sales assistants, waiters, chefs or bar-keepers. Additionally, one can observe a steady demand for business and administration (associate) professionals mainly in the hotel and catering sector as well as for medical doctors of all disciplines in the health sector. Lack of technical competencies and emigration The main reasons for recruitment difficulties regarding skilled manual workers are shortages of candidates with the right technical skills; evidence suggests that unattractive working conditions are causing labour migration to Western and Northern parts of the EU. For higher skilled occupations, recruiting difficulties in the health sector mainly stem from the lack of candidates due to the emigration of medical doctors to Western and Northern parts of the EU seeking better working conditions. Business and administration (associate) professionals oftentimes lack sufficient professional experience or soft skills according to employers assessments. Mitigation strategies A number of initiatives are carried out both at the national and regional level, mainly with the aim of increasing the supply of skilled workforce. The most significant strategies in this context are the reform of the vocational training schools (zasadnicza szkoła zawodowa) introduced in 2012 and the recruitment of foreign labour from Eastern Europe and Asia, particularly relating to the construction and transport sector. Assessment of available evidence Medium. See page 5 for more information. Poland 2013 Population: 38.5m Workforce: 24.6m Unemployment: 13% TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in Poland 2013 Occupation (ISCO-08) Building and related trades workers Drivers and mobile plant operators Personal service workers Sales workers Business and administration assocs [ ] Metal, machinery and related trades [ ] Electrical and electronic trades workers Science and engineering professionals Health professionals Business and administration pros. [ ] Food processing, wood working [ ] Information and communications [ ] Science and engineering associate [ ] Teaching professionals Legal, social and cultural professionals Legal, social, cultural and related [ ] Cleaners and helpers Labourers in mining, construction [ ] Administrative [ ] managers Production [ ] service managers Development since 2008 Page 1

2 Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies Bottleneck vacancies have been identified using a comprehensive study on the employers view of the Polish labour market comparing survey results obtained in The study was conducted under the project entitled Study of Human Capital in Poland. In 2012, 16,000 employers were asked to identify hard-to-fill vacancies. Bottleneck vacancies in Poland mainly relate to jobs for manual and skilled workers in the construction and transport sector. While construction companies primarily report difficulties with recruiting brick layers and plasterers, transport companies are experiencing severe difficulties with filling vacancies for heavy truck and lorry drivers. Moreover, an increasing number of employers are reporting difficulties with recruiting electrical and electronic trades workers (29,000 vacancies) and metal, machinery and related trades workers. The strong demand for manual and skilled workers in the construction and transport as well as in related sectors is the result of an on-going economic expansion. Within the group of high skilled labourers, business and administration (associate) professionals, civil engineers, as well as medical doctors of all disciplines constitute the most difficult vacancies to be filled (approx. 12,000 hard-to-fill vacancies for health professionals), particularly in the Eastern part of Poland as well as in rural regions. Among the top 10 bottleneck vacancies a few skilled non manual jobs are also classified as hard-to-fill vacancies. Besides sales workers (56,000 vacancies), personal service workers (39,000 vacancies), in particular cooks, waiters/waitresses and barkeepers. The high demand for specific staff in the hotel and catering sector derives from the growing tourism sector. The ranking is based on an index estimating the share of bottleneck vacancies reported by employers in each occupation and developed by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) (see p. 5) Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO-08 Skills level (ISCO-08) Geographical aspects 1 Building and related trades workers, excl. electricians SM National 2 Drivers and mobile plant operators SM National 3 Personal service workers SNM National 4 Sales workers SNM National (urban) 5 Business and administration associate professionals HS National (urban) 6 Metal, machinery and related trades workers SM National 7 Electrical and electronic trades workers SM National 8 Science and engineering professionals HS National 9 Health professionals HS National (rural) 10 Business and administration professionals HS National (urban) 11 Food processing, wood working, garnment and other ( ) SM National 12 Information and communications technology professionals HS National (urban) 13 Science and engineering associate professionals HS National 14 Teaching professionals HS National 15 Legal, social and cultural professionals HS National 16 Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionals HS National 17 Cleaners and helpers Elem. National 18 Labourers in mining, construction ( ) Elem. National 19 Administrative and commercial managers HS National 20 Production and specialized service managers HS National Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= High skilled Page 2

3 Main sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors Construction Transport Bottleneck vacancies Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians Drivers and mobile plant operators The construction and transport sectors are strong pillars of the Polish economy and have recently experienced significant economic growth. Consequently, both sectors are characterized by high number of vacancies accompanied by high proportions of hard-to-fill vacancies. Construction and transport sectors In 2012 there were approximately 106,000 vacancies to be filled with labourers being classified as building and related trade workers, excluding electricians and around 58,000 vacancies to be filled with workers belonging to the occupation group drivers and mobile plant operators. However, strong demand for manual and skilled labour cannot be satisfied nationally, though unemployment among adolescents is around 30%. The Polish education system has not been able to respond to this situation since the promotion of vocational training schools (zasadnicza szkoła zawodowa) had been long neglected. Only recently action has been taken to reform them and align the curricula to the high labour market demand for manual skilled workers with up-to-date technical competencies. Main reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Emigration of labour Most vacancies in the health sector remain unfilled due to low pay and unfavourable working conditions. In general, employers in the health sector reported hard-to-fill-vacancies for medical doctors of all disciplines mainly due to the high emigration rates of health professionals heading towards Western and Northern parts of the EU, e.g. Germany, United Kingdom and Scandinavia. Better working conditions and payment are the main drivers of emigration. The construction and transport sectors have also been suffering from high emigration rates of skilled labour force. Decreasing uptake of vocational training A decreasing number of adolescents opts for vocational training and instead pursue higher educational careers. For this reason the number of graduates with specific vocational education has been steadily declining limiting the labour suppy of manual and skilled workers. Lack of technical competencies and emigration The main reasons for recruitment difficulties regarding skilled manual workers (e.g. building and related trades workers, drivers and mobile plant operators) are shortages of candidates with technical skills. Evidence suggests that unattractive working conditions are causing labour migration to Western and Northern parts of the EU. Vacancies for sales assistants remain unfilled due to a lack of adequate motivation to work on the part of job candidates or low salaries, whereas the poor image of the hotel and catering sector accompanied by unfavourable conditions make it difficult for employers to fill vacancies. Page 3

4 Initiatives to cope with Bottleneck Vacancies There have been multiple initiatives taken by various actors on different levels associated with the mitigation of bottleneck vacancies. However some of these are more general as they are aimed at meeting current and future needs, rather than filling specific gaps. Even though a comprehensive national strategy is still missing, several measures have been taken by the Ministry of National Education in order to increase the supply of manual skilled as well as high skilled workers. The most important mitigation strategy recently implemented was the reform of the vocational training schools (zasadnicza szkoła zawodowa). Cooperation with regional level state employment agencies (PES) as well as the recruitment of foreign labour force, particularly from East Europe and Asia have gained in significance, especially for larger companies operating in the construction and transport sector. Reform of vocational education The most important mitigation strategy implemented by the Polish Ministry of National Education in autumn 2012 was the reform of the vocational training schools (zasadnicza szkoła zawodowa). The reform was initiated to guarantee the supply of manual and skilled workers with up-to-date competencies. The reform s main targets were to 1)increase the practical relevance of the vocational training by developing up-to-date curricula adapted to the requirements of the labour market, and 2) raise the reputation of the vocational training schools among adolescents and employers. STEM focus A significant programme designed by the Ministry of National Education is Girls for Technical Universities (Dziewczyny na politechniki) aiming at sparking girls' curiosity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in order to take up studies in STEM. First results prove the effectiveness of the programme since the ratio of female STEM students had risen from 30% to 35.9% within the last six years. Improving placement At the regional level, state employment agencies (PES) actively work with local employers in order to activate the employment potential of unemployed, especially adolescents, by financing specific training courses, and (co-)financing tailored made training courses for job candidates that do not fully meet the job requirements. Particularly, large companies operating in construction and transport primarily contract specialised recruitment agencies for hiring adequate staff to fill vacancies. Recruitment from abroad Improvement of working conditions or motivation of staff do not constitute effective strategies in the employers opinion since they cannot compete with job conditions offered in Western and Northern parts of the EU. Therefore, employers focus their efforts on the recruitment of new foreign workforce, particularly from Eastern European countries (Ukraine, Belarus) as well as from Asia (Vietnam, China), making recruitment from abroad a highly significant strategy for the country. Page 4

5 Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in Poland The bottleneck vacancies have been identified by using one main source: A comprehensive study on the employer's view of the Polish labour market comparing survey results obtained in The study was conducted under the Study of Human Capital in Poland project, a labour market monitoring project that is unique in Poland and Europe. By 2014, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, PARP) in collaboration with the Jagiellonian University will trace in five rounds of research how the structure of competences is changing in the labour market. Information on the characteristics of hard-to-fill vacancies as well as underlying reasons were drawn from further reports published by PARP and validated through desk research on occupation-specific studies and surveys, as well as newspaper articles. Interviews with experts were conducted in order to obtain relevant insights concerning the characteristics of mitigation strategies adopted on the national and regional level. Overall, the data quality is assessed to be medium. The expert group responsible for the project Study Human Capital in Poland established a high quality monitoring system based on results deriving from a comprehensive and representative employers' survey carried out every year. For the survey, in ,000 employers were asked to identify hard-to-fill vacancies. The question was: To what position or positions is it most difficult to find employees? Please give the name of the position as precisely and completely as possible. Additionally, employers were asked to name specific problems with employing people, as well as what skills were primarily lacking among the candidates for the positions. Sources Marcin Kocór, Anna Strzebońska, Monika Dawid Sawicka (2012): Pracodawcy o rynku pracy. Na podstawie badań zrealizowanych w 2012 roku w ramach III edycji projektu Bilans Kapitału. Warszawa: Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, available at: RAPORT2_26_11_final.pdf? Anna Strzebońska, Marcin Kocór (2013): Młodość czy doświadczenie? Kapitał ludzki w Polsce. Raport podsumowujący III edycję badań BKL z 2012 roku. Warszawa: Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, available at: Iwona Wrzesińska-Wal (2012): Mobilność polskich lekarzy, in: Problemy Higieny i Epidemiologii, 93 (1), , available at: Four interviews conducted with key stakeholders and experts. Page 5