Construction boom, but without employed people from Kolasin

The fact that Kolašin is currently one of the largest construction sites in Montenegro has not brought many benefits to the unemployed in that city. Numerous construction sites in Kolašin have not significantly changed the structure and number of those who are looking for work, and the hopes of the people of Kolašin that the fact that a dozen hotels and residential buildings are being built in the city and its surroundings will also mean a chance to employ unqualified workers, judging by the data of the Employment Office (ZZZ), did not come true, because contractors bring organized groups of workers, mostly foreign nationals, to construction sites.

The fact is that on the records of the Kolašin Labor Bureau, as the independent advisor for records and mediation says Aleksandar Rakočević, "there is not a sufficient number of unemployed who have worked on large construction projects, especially for jobs that require specific professional knowledge".

"There are currently 19 people with a professional qualification in a construction profession and 54 people who do not have a professional qualification, but have work experience in the construction sector, on the register of unemployed persons of the Kolašin Labor Bureau. Although several investments are currently being realized in Kolašin, which involve intensive construction works, both low-rise construction and high-rise construction, the engagement of workers from Kolašin is very modest. The exception is the subcontractors whose headquarters are in our city, who are involved in these projects with their operatives and employees who are from Kolasin", explains Rakočević.

He says that they do not have official data on how workers are hired in construction companies that perform work on projects that are being implemented in that city. Those who are interested, he explains, do not have the necessary qualifications for construction work.

"From our records, as many as 86 people are interested in working in construction jobs, but their qualifications do not meet the needs of employers. It is also a fact that larger, organized groups of workers work on construction sites, so this is also the reason why the employment of unemployed persons from the ZZZ records is not at the desired level. Hiring workers for any professional jobs, even in construction, implies having knowledge and skills that recommend you for employment. "There are not enough people on our record who have worked on large construction projects, especially for jobs that require specific professional knowledge," he claims.

There is, he says, a certain number of people who are experts in working on construction machines and in transport, because ZZZ has implemented training for these occupations in recent years. Thus, Rakočević reminds, in 2015, in anticipation of the construction of the highway, training was carried out for 57 persons registered with the ZZZ for the occupation of operator of construction machines (excavator and loader). The Labor Bureau does not even have precise data on the number of people from Kolašin from the records of the ZZZ, who were engaged in the construction of the highway until now.

"A large number of them were employed through subcontractors and labor agency agencies, which cover all activities. This made it impossible for us to monitor the full effects of the measures we are implementing", says the independent advisor of the ZZZ.

It is symptomatic, he explains, that "in Kolašin there is a deficit of workers in the activities that dominate the economic structure of that region". According to Rakočević, the needs of employers in tourism and catering have been expressed. We are also looking for waiters, cooks, maids, receptionists, then in the construction industry, carpenters, armourers, ceramists, facade painters, painters...

"The situation in forestry and wood processing is better because this is a region where people traditionally deal with those jobs. "Certainly, in every economic activity there is a pronounced deficit of quality and a weak interest of young people in working and improving in activities that are still present, but which, especially in the future, will be the backbone of the economic environment in Kolašin," assesses Rakočević.