Bottleneck Vacancies in Latvia

Transcription

1 Bottleneck Vacancies in Latvia Bottleneck vacancies mainly in skilled manual occupations Main bottlenecks are identified within the ICT sector, manufacture of textiles and construction. Health care is also experiencing recruitment difficulties. Bottleneck vacancies in Latvia mainly appear with skilled manual occupations, such as welders and flame cutters, structural metal preparers and erectors, occupations in manufacture of textiles, occupations in construction (structural-metal preparers and erectors, plasterers, electricians), heavy truck and lorry drivers, wood processing plant operators, spray painters and varnishers, butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers. The highest number of long-term vacancies in 2012 was recorded for welders and flame cutters (PES data) especially related to the manufacture of fabricated metal products, in construction, and in the maintenance of motor vehicles. Latvia 2013 Population: 2.2m Workforce: 1.0m Unemployment: 9.3% Low numbers of candidates with the right qualifications and low salaries For bottlenecks within skilled manual occupations, the main reason is a lack of qualified workforce. This is connected with an increase in the use of new modern technologies in manufacturing, and problems in the existing vocational education system in Latvia that cannot respond so quickly to the labour market demand. Within ICT occupations lack of skilled workforce is due to problems in the education system (teaching of mathematics in schools during the last years that promote high dropouts of students), as well global demand of ICT specialists. Low pay is the second main reasons for bottlenecks in Latvia. This is the main reason identified behind recruitment problems of specialists medical practitioners. This causes doctors to either take up works in several work places at a time, or to emigrate to other countries where their skills are in demand. Strategies include increasing supply Identified initiatives aimed at mitigating bottleneck vacancies are mainly being implemented by the policy makers in cooperation with employers associations and individual employers. Incentives and initiatives are primarily aimed at increasing the supply of a skilled workforce (education and training, ALPMs for unemployed) and at reducing unnecessary outflows of workers (reduction of sick leave, increasing of statutory pension age in Latvia). Assessment of available evidence Medium. See page 5 for more information. TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in Latvia 2013 Occupation (ISCO-08) Welders and flame cutters Structural-metal preparers and erectors Heavy truck and lorry drivers Cooks Software developers Crop farm labourers Prison guards Computer network and systems techs. Sewing, embroidery and related workers Spray painters and varnishers Sewing machine operators Tailors, dressmakers, furriers [ ] Specialist medical practitioners Butchers, fishmongers and related [ ] Contact centre information clerks Plasterers Physiotherapy technicians and assts. Mechanical machinery assemblers Wood processing plant operators Building and related electricians Development since 2008 Page 1

2 Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies The bottleneck vacancies have been identified using two main sources: 1) Quarterly data from the Latvian State Employment Agency (PES) on number of long-term vacancies (defined as posts that remain vacant for more than 3 months) for the period ; 2) Research Labour market short-term forecasts for the first halfyear of 2013 (Projektu un kvalitates vadiba Ltd., contractor-pes of Latvia). Bottleneck vacancies in Latvia mainly appear with skilled manual occupations, such as welders and flame cutters, occupations in manufacture of textiles (sewing, embroidery and related workers, sewing machine operators, etc.). Bottlenecks within highly skilled occupations include the ICT sector, where software developers and computer network and system technicians are in high demand. Within the health sector recruitment problems related to specialist medical practitioners have been identified, especially in rural areas. According to the Ministry of Health, there is a lack of such specializations as emergency physicians and disaster medicine doctors, child psychiatrists, endocrinologists, epidemiologists. According to the Latvian Prison Administration, doctors and dentists available to work in prisons are very difficult to find. A number of skilled non manual occupations are also classified as bottlenecks, e.g. cooks, prison guards, contact centre information clerks, tailors, dressmakers, furriers and hatters. Shortages of cooks has been persistent since 2008 due to the rapid development of the tourism sector in the last 5 years. According to several studies, there is a large number of vacancies for shop sales assistants in Latvia in the trade sector (5223). However, data from the Latvian PES suggest that the number of long-term vacancies in this occupation is rather small, potentially related to high staff turnover. As the ranking is based on quantitative data from the PES on long-term vacancies, this occupation is not included in the top 20 list. Ranking of occupations is based on the number of long-term vacancies (as defined by PES) registered in the PES Vacancy Portal. Data used in ranking updated to Sept (see p. 5). Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO-08 Skills level (ISCO-08) Geographical aspects 1 Welders and flame cutters SM National 2 Structural-metal preparers and erectors SM National 3 Heavy truck and lorry drivers SM National 4 Cooks SNM National 5 Software developers HS National 6 Crop farm labourers Elem National 7 Prison guards SNM National 8 Computer network and systems technicians HS National 9 Sewing, embroidery and related workers SM National 10 Spray painters and varnishers SM National 11 Sewing machine operators SM National 12 Tailors, dressmakers,furriers and hatters SM National 13 Specialist medical practitioners HS National, rural 14 Butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers SM National 15 Contact centre information clerks SNM National 16 Plasterers SM National 17 Physiotherapy technicians and assistants HS National 18 Mechanical machinery assemblers SM National 19 Wood processing plant operators SM National 20 Building and related electricians SM National Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= High skilled Page 2

3 Main sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors Textile manufacturing Health ICT Bottleneck vacancies Sewing, embroidery and related workers, sewing machine operators Specialist medical practitioners, Physiotherapy technicians and assistants Software developers, Computer network and system technicians The textile manufacturing sector is experiencing an export-driven recovery and there is strong demand for related skills. The ICT sector is experiencing strong growth. The rapid development of new technologies makes it difficult for the education system to keep up with the rising demand for specialised profiles (mainly software developers). Recruitment problems also exist in the health care sector, especially for specialist medical practitioners. Bottleneck problems in textile manufacturing Despite a rapid decrease of production volumes in 2009 (- 38,6%) the manufacture of textile is experiencing recovery mainly driven by exports (in % of production was exported). Problems with bottleneck occupations in manufacture of textile are mainly connected with the lack of sufficient labour force with the necessary technical competencies and skills. Another prospective problem is related to the ageing workforce: 46% of the workforce is aged 40. There are 26 educational institutions in Latvia where it is possible to educate specialists for the textile industry. However, according to a survey among employers, 50% of the interviewees evaluate theoretical knowledge of young specialists as being medium or low and not meeting the actual needs of the industry. Low salaries, monotonous work and high risk of occupational diseases increase the number of vacancies in the sector, making it difficult to attract young people. Main reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Lack of technical competencies Most bottleneck occupations in Latvia occur due to a lack of technical competencies. Demand for qualified labour force increases with the use of new, modern technologies in many sectors. Another often reported reason for bottlenecks is the low level of salaries in some of the affected occupations. Even in the sectors with higher-than-average salaries (e.g. ICT), there is a continuing problem of emigration of the labour force towards other EU and non-eu countries offering more attractive work conditions. According to Mihail Hazan, a labour market expert, in the last 10 years approximately 200,000 inhabitants left the country. High manufacturing demand Demand of skilled manual occupations in manufacture is connected with the increase in the production in manufacture in 2012 (+9,3%), mainly in the metal production (+33,6%), production of metal products (+8,1%), wood processing (+ 5,1%). This fact explains the current high demand for such occupations as welders and flame cutters, wood processing plant operators. ICT The ICT sector is experiencing a strong growth also due to the rapid development of new technologies. This caused the education system to be unable to respond in a sufficiently swift manner, thus missing to provide the necessary ICT specialists. As a consequence, young people with no work experience are also recruited by companies. Page 3

4 Initiatives to cope with Bottleneck Vacancies Identified initiatives aimed at mitigating bottleneck vacancies are mainly being implemented by the policy makers in cooperation with employers associations and individual employers. Incentives and initiatives are primarily aimed at increasing the supply of a skilled workforce (education and training, ALPMs for unemployed) and at reducing unnecessary outflows of workers (reduction of sick leave, increasing of statutory pension age in Latvia). Training Vocational training The PES offers a Vacancy Portal where employers can register vacancies, and it offers different training programmes (vocational training, requalification, qualification improvement, non-formal training) for unemployed persons, in cooperation with educational institutions and employers. In 2013 the list of training programmes included the following bottleneck occupations welders and flame cutters, sewing, embroidery and related workers, contact centre information clerks, building and related electricians, computer network and system technicians. However, employers reported that they used these less for high-skilled occupations due to the difficulties in finding suitable candidates among unemployed. A memorandum was signed in 2012 between the Ministry of Education and the Employers Confederation of Latvia on diversion of state financing to those higher educational programs that cater to the economy priority sectors. Common activities with employers associations to modernise the system of vocational education (ESF project Development of a sector qualification system and improvement of the efficiency and quality of vocational education and training ). Twelve Sector Expert Councils were also established to work on improving professional standards and vocational programs. Wages Mobility In the public sector, an increase in salaries is planned for the health care sector employees (from 2014) and for prison guards (from 2016). Wage increases in private companies depend on the sector and the individual company. According to the Ministry of Economy, in the first quarter of 2013 gross salary increased by 4.3% in comparison to the previous year. The largest increase was in the ICT sector, state administration and in the trade sector. The manufacturing sector also showed an increase by 3.7%. Measures supporting regional mobility of employees are being implemented. In 2013 the Ministry of Welfare introduced measures to facilitate mobility in the form of financial support to cover expenses of transport and rent of accommodation for the first four months after starting a new employment. A re-emigration plan is also being introduced to attract skilled labour. In 2013 the government set out a plan to foster re-emigration of labour force. The responsibility falls upon the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with other national ministries and governmental institutions. Page 4

5 Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in Latvia Bottleneck vacancies have been identified using two main sources: Quarterly data from the Latvian State Employment Agency (PES) on the number of long-term vacancies (defined as posts that remain vacant for more than 3 months) for the period Research Labour market short-term forecasts for the first half-year of 2013 (Projektu un kvalitates vadiba Ltd., contractor-pes of Latvia). The results from the two reports have been compared, in order to validate the findings and elaborate on the specific characteristics of each bottleneck vacancy. The reason why PES data was used is linked to their reliability, the scope in terms of years covered ( ) and in terms of occupations (in 2012 data on long term vacancies covered 163 occupations). Furthermore, explanations on reasons and mitigation strategies have been explored through interviews with representatives of ministries (the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy) and of the PES, labour market experts, representatives of employers associations and social partners. Additional information was gained through desk research (studies on particular sectors, emigration, web publications on wages). Overall, data quality is assessed to be reasonable (medium). The main source of quantitative data is represented by quarterly data provided by the Latvian PES in the Vacancy Portal. Long term vacancies are defined as posts being advertised for more than 3 months. The period covered is Neither the above mentioned data nor any other source consulted provided an explicit ranking of bottleneck occupations. The ranking of PES data (top 20) was done by the National Expert based on two indicators: duration of vacancy (vacant more than 3 months), and number of vacancies. For example, welders and flame cutters rank first in 2012 with 239 long term vacancies, In order to validate the findings, data from the PES were compared to those included in the study Labour market short-term forecasts for the first half-year of In this study survey of employers was realised in the third quarter of Data on the number of employed in occupation in 2012 is based on a Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistic Bureau. In several occupations (e.g. computer network technicians), data were only availble at ISCO 3 digit level. Sources State Employment Agency (PES) of Latvia, Quarterly data on the number of long term vacancies (vacant more than 3 months) during the period , Projektu un kvalitates vadiba Ltd, Darba tirgus istermiņa prognoze 2013.gada 1.pusgadam ( Labour market short-term forecasts for the first half-year of 2013 ), 2013, available at: docs/17_512b448439f7a pdf Kahila P., Roto J., Perjo L., Lange Scherbenske S., Cross border labour mobility in the Central Baltic region, 2013, available at: Central Statistical Bureau, Data on number of employed in occupation. Nine interviews conducted with key stakeholders and experts. Page 5