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July 6, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Romania faces critical skills shortage
Clare Nuttall in Bucharest
More than four out of five employers in Romania are facing difficulties in finding employees
with the skills they need, a new survey from international recruiter ManpowerGroup showed.
This puts Romania among the greatest sufferers from the global talent shortage identified by Manpower, which it says has reached a 12-year high in 2018.
In Romania, 81% of those surveyed said they were facing difficulties filling positions, putting the country second only to Japan (89%).
This, said Manpower, “reflects the upward trajectory of nearshoring and offshoring over recent years. The result is that employers are left with unfulfilled roles, threatening growth and operational efficiency.”
Thanks to its low labour costs compared to fellow EU member states, relatively large population, lin- guistic and technical skills and proximity to major West European markets, Romania has become an increasingly popular nearshoring destination. Cities like Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Iasi have emerged as hubs for the IT, shared services and business process outsourcing sectors.
Increasingly investors are moving up the value chain, from activities like call centre operation to higher value activities such as software devel- opment, and even video game development.
While this has helped boost the economy, it has put intense pressure on the labour market, espe- cially given the mass exodus of working age Roma- nians to seek better opportunities in other EU member states, in particular Italy and Spain.