Construction is lacking 5,000 people, will they be found in Vietnam?

Prague - The Czech construction industry currently lacks at least 5,000 employees, but the actual need is even higher. Construction companies are now seriously considering addressing the problem by recruiting the necessary workers from countries like Vietnam, for example. In an interview with ČTK, Václav Matyáš, the president of the Association of Entrepreneurs in Construction (SPS), stated this.
    "This is a matter that is today regarded on our part as one of the most risky factors for further development," Matyáš described the seriousness of the situation regarding the shortage of workers. "We will not manage without immigration and foreign labor," he added. The demand for labor can no longer be satisfied even by the labor migration from Slovakia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The biggest deficit is for skilled workers.
    "We do not want to go the route of cheap intermediary agencies," Matyáš described the method of obtaining new workers. Builders are considering establishing necessary educational programs for future employees directly in the countries from which they would come, such as Vietnam. They would then arrive in the Czech Republic already with the required qualifications.
    The SPS is currently trying to solve the lack of employees in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and other institutions. "If we want to attract candidates for construction, we must offer the younger generation income opportunities," Matyáš mentioned the need for wage growth in the coming years. "The competitive advantage of cheap labor cannot last indefinitely," he added. However, according to him, a certain problem with the labor shortage will continue to exist during the period of economic growth.
    Last year, 3,207 graduates completed construction vocational schools. This is about 160 less than in 2006. According to Matyáš, the current need is at least five times this number. "If the number of construction companies with 20 or more employees is 2,485 entities, this number needs no further comment,” describes the situation in the analysis of the SPS, which deals with the current vocational education system. In 1999, nearly 7,000 students completed construction programs.
    The Economic Committee of Parliament instructed the Ministry of Education in November to analyze the crisis situation in vocational and technical education in cooperation with the Ministries of Industry and Labor and Social Affairs and to propose solutions.
    The labor shortage is considered the main brake on further growth not only of the construction industry but also of other sectors. The same problem is currently also faced by construction in Slovakia and even in Ukraine, for example.
    In November of last year, the number of employees in construction firms with 20 or more employees fell by 2.2 percent compared to November 2006. Builders earned an average of 25,407 crowns per month, which is 5.1 percent more year-on-year. The average hourly wage increased by 4.4 percent year-on-year to 161 crowns. Productivity per worker increased by 9.1 percent. This is based on data on the construction sector for November 2007, published today by the Czech Statistical Office.