Prague, May 16 (CTK) – Czech craftsmen and drivers follow doctors who leave to work abroad in search of better pay conditions, which makes Czech employers resort to what their Western colleagues do and recruit personnel in the East, including in India or Ukraine, weekly Tyden out on Monday writes.
It writes that an estimated 125,000 Czechs now work abroad, compared with 54,000 in 2006. They mainly leave for Germany, Britain and Austria.
According to a March poll by HealthCare Institute, 28 percent of graduates of faculties of medicine leave for abroad right after graduation. Last year, this was true of 563 doctors, Tyden writes.
It writes that this “drain” does not only concern “brains.” Qualified craftsmen are in great demand in neighbouring countries and firms are trying to offer them as good conditions as possible. The most wanted are electricians, bakers and carpenters, Tyden writes.
It writes that drivers are another profession wanted abroad and that an estimated 7,000 of them leave the Czech Republic annually. They mainly go to work in Austria and Germany.
The departures cause big problems to firms in the Czech Republic where up to 150,000 craftsmen are lacking. In inland as well as international lorry transport, up to 10,000 drivers are lacking and the shortage of bus drivers is even higher.
The Association of Road Transport Operators, CESMAD Bohemia, even warns of that there will be no one to transport people in five years, Tyden writes.
It writes that foreign firms offer not only a higher pay, but also a number of benefits, which often play the key role in people’s decision-making on the country where they will work.
Firms in West European countries and in the United States offer much more interesting benefits than the Czech ones, including, for instance, assistance in tidying up the house, Tyden writes.
In the United States, a common benefit is health insurance not only for the employee, but for the whole family, Tyden quotes Olga Hyklova, AC Jobs company managing director, as saying.
The outflow of young people abroad is facilitated by the fact that more and more of them have good knowledge of foreign languages and they spend internships and study stays abroad, Tyden writes.
It writes that healthcare facilities have long been recruiting nurses in Slovakia and Ukraine, while industrial firms are looking for manual workers in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, ManpowerGroup’s Jiri Halbrstat told Tyden.
IT specialists are sought in India, Poland and Ukraine and firms are successful in recruiting specialists in Spain and Portugal, both hit by a high unemployment, Tyden writes.
