Shortage of skilled labor in Serbia, entrepreneurs say

NEWS 25.10.201916:55
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The biggest problem facing entrepreneurs in Serbia is the shortage of skilled labor, the Ernst&Young company said on Friday.

A presentation of the EY Entrepreneurship Barometer 2019 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) was told that 90 percent of Serbian entrepreneurs said the shortage of skilled workers is the biggest challenge their companies face. “The chronic shortage of workers is a national problem which has to be solved strategically to avoid a situation in which the planned GDP growth is not achievable,”Ernst&Young Country Managing Partner Ivan Rakic said.  

Rakic said that an “alarming number of people said they contracted jobs but don’t have the workforce to do them both in production and services”. He added that the poll of 115 companies showed that 86 percent of entrepreneurs believe that tax rates on earnings have to be cut.  

“Unfair competition is also a problem because they see other companies surviving despite fines,” he said.  

According to Rakic, the third biggest problem entrepreneurs face is the fact that 77 percent are financing their growth from their own funds and just one fifth of entrepreneurs take out bank loans. Other problems include the economic climate, competition on the market, regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles, prices and long working hours.  

The poll showed that 71 percent of Serbian entrepreneurs manage family companies. A total of 41 percent feel that entrepreneurship is not viewed as a good career choice while 85 percent said the media are not focusing enough attention on entrepreneurs.