The lack of suitable workforce is a challenge that businessmen face year after year, which is why it is necessary to modernize teaching in educational institutions and review the content of educational programs, assessed the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG).
"Economic growth is crucially important for the prosperity of a society and its members, and it is based on a quality and competent workforce, for this reason it is necessary to work further to adequately regulate the education system and accept the culture of a 'learning society', which would be a generator of economic cultural and general social progress.
As they add, a large number of factors influence the lack of suitable labor force, primarily the seasonal nature of the economy, low labor mobility in Montenegro, the deficit of lower qualified labor force, engagement of experienced teams for certain jobs, mismatch of school obligations with the season, etc.
"Foreign labor is mainly employed for qualifications of a lower level of education. The number of work permits issued to foreigners with higher education is negligible," said PKCG.
They remind that the research of the Chamber of Commerce showed that when it comes to the knowledge, skills and competences of Montenegrin and foreign students, the opinions of businessmen are divided.
Of the surveyed businessmen, 22,3 percent are of the opinion that workers who have completed their studies abroad are of better quality, while 41,5 percent of them believe that this is only partially true. Only seven percent of businessmen believe that those who studied at Montenegrin institutions of higher education represent a higher quality workforce, while 29,2 percent of respondents have not yet had the opportunity to employ graduates from foreign faculties.
In Montenegro, at the end of July, according to the data of the Employment Agency, there were a total of 4.587 occupations, almost half of which relate to university students, more precisely 2.154. Last year, there was a demand for 1.800 occupations, of which 838 were for university graduates.
The assistant director of the ZZZCG Sanja Rabrenović told "Vijesti" that the concept of the deficit of certain occupations includes an overview from several aspects, regional and periodic, where and when the analysis is performed.
"So, some professions in certain regions, e.g. on the coast they may be in short supply, while those same occupations are in surplus in the central region. This especially applies to the needs of the market for seasonal employment or current projects, when the demand is greater than the supply, such as for occupations in the field of hospitality (waiter, bartender, assistant cook, waiter) and construction, when qualified construction workers (carpenter, reinforcement worker, mason, concrete worker, facade worker)", explained Rabrenović.
In PKCG, they believe that in order to improve the situation on the labor market, it is necessary to modernize the teaching in educational institutions, that is, to offer the transfer of knowledge through IT (suggestions from businessmen say that for the 21st century, the current type of teaching is boring and outdated).
"The demands of businessmen relate to the need to work more on strengthening the value system of students (dedication to work, curiosity, desire to learn...). It is also necessary to stimulate business entities that participate in the education system with tax incentives. In order to improve learning conditions, the state should take care to remove administrative barriers for donations and aid to schools", said the PKCG.
They also add that it is necessary to continuously reexamine the content of classes because the focus is still on the teacher's norms and the students' needs.
"Example: the language of the strongest European economy, Germany, which is the mother tongue of more than 100 million people in Montenegro, is studied by a negligible number of students despite the demands of students and children. Continue with the modularization of programs in both secondary and higher education and develop a greater number of applied studies in higher education", the PKCG states.
Demand for teachers of mathematics, physics, piano...
According to Rabrenović, for a long time there have been typical examples of demand for teaching staff in natural mathematics (professors of mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry), electronics, then professor of the music group of subjects, professor of piano, violin and guitar. The most sought-after professions, according to the latest data, are lawyers and economists. Despite the fact that the stated needs of employers for these professions are the greatest, due to the large number of people with this profile, there are also the most unemployed graduates in law and economics on the record. "It is interesting that a significant number of young people, years ago, decided to study in these areas of work," said PKCG.
Bachelor's degrees are not recognized on the labor market
PKCG explained that the reforms of the education system from 2017 and the introduction of the 3+2+3 study model in higher education will result in the production of a large number of bachelor's degrees of 180 ECST credits, qualifications of level VI of the National Qualifications Framework.
"The fact is that so far these diplomas have not been recognized on the labor market, and most systematizations for higher education foresee the VII level of education, which means that if this does not change, practically all students after completing their basic studies should continue their studies for another two years to obtain a master's degree, that is, a VII2 education level qualification. Also, legal regulations from many areas require at least level VII, i.e. at least 240 ECST credits, i.e. four-year studies, both in the field of work in educational institutions and for obtaining work licenses for technical fields, which further complicates the employment of personnel with basic studies", said PKCG.
As the unemployment rate of university graduates on the labor market has increased in recent years, from 5,1% in 2005 to 12,6% in 2018, it is necessary to make an additional effort to improve the situation in this area, according to PKCG- in.
"The fact that the demand for higher education graduates is increasing, and at the same time the number of unemployed higher education graduates on the records of the Employment Service is increasing, indicates a problem of mismatch between supply and demand", concludes the PKCG.
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