A sustainable partnership between the Employment Service and the economy, based on trust, common goals and a vision for the development of the domestic workforce, is crucial for stable growth, higher employment and Montenegro's readiness for the European labor market.
This was, among other things, stated at the roundtable "Connecting the needs of the economy and active employment policy measures." At the event organized by the Employment Service and the Chamber of Commerce, businessmen talked about the challenges in business.
In addition to the chronic disease - the lack of domestic labor, businessmen who have been operating in our market for decades have been plagued by another ailment for some time.
"Our main competitor is the employer called the state. Every time there is a change in administration, several people leave our company and are hired in the state sector," said businessman Aleksandar Vasiljević.
And it is the state, through its institutions, that has the responsibility to implement an active employment policy in which the economy is an equal partner, says the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Nina Drakić.
At the Round Table dedicated to this topic, she emphasized that the institution she heads, as a bridge between the real and public sectors, has a key role in connecting education and the economy, which is struggling with various challenges.
"When we jointly invest in strengthening the domestic workforce, in knowledge and skills, and in creating a stable labor market, we build a competitive economy and society in which everyone has the opportunity to contribute and succeed," says the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Nina Drakić.
The Employment Service is aware that success and reforms, which are necessary on the road to Brussels, do not happen overnight. With the aim of better cooperation with the economy, they are preparing a catalog that will make all active employment policy measures available to both the unemployed and employers on a daily basis.
"We want to be flexible, dynamic and efficient in implementing measures, in order to enable employers to quickly find the necessary staff. The decisions of the Employment Service will in the future be based on surveys among employers, so that the measures are adjusted to the real needs of the labor market. The focus will be on training in the areas of information technology, tourism, energy and crafts. Special emphasis will be placed on activating difficult-to-employ groups," said the Director of the Employment Service, David Perčobić.
Perčobić stated that in addition to the south, where the unemployment rate is 2 percent and the central region with 5,5 percent, the paradox in Montenegro is the unemployment rate in the north of the country, where it exceeds 30 percent, which represents a major challenge. And, all the challenges that employers face are presented through the results of the research.
And until things improve, employers say the fight continues. The businessman from the beginning of the story, who has been in business for 53 years, has a request to start with.
"Let's ask our dear and beloved country to ease up a bit on the demand for personnel. I think we are now sufficiently covered by these personnel, and now we need someone to work and build," Vasiljević emphasized.
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