Albanian 
Pristina, September 21, 2022- The American Chamber of Commerce marked the third day of the Human Capital Week, where a discussion on the Workforce Shortage in Manufacturing took place. The panel included Gojart Kelmendi – the executive director of Euro Kosova sh.p.k., and Shpetim Kalludra, an expert in the Employment Agency of Kosovo.
Mr. Kelmendi emphasized the concern over the shortage of workforce, which is affecting all sectors in the country, particularly the manufacturing sector. This phenomenon has become more evident in the last few years, as the flow of the workforce abroad has increased at unprecedented levels. Identifying the reasons why this shortage is occurring is important, to tackle them properly.
Mr. Kalludra stated that inadequate qualifications and lack of specified programs for the job market requirements are contributing to labor shortages. The government has identified the concern and has consequently worked on schemes with the aim of increasing the employment rate and easing the burden on employers. Two salient schemes have been recently put forward by the government, through the Employment Agency of Kosovo.
The first scheme -the so-called 1.8 measure- provides help to businesses by distributing 170 euros for new employees for 6 consecutive months, with a possibility of extension for another 6 months. The second scheme includes support for households with no member employed, by securing a job position and support of 300euros monthly for a member of each jobless household.
It is worth underlining that around 70 thousand citizens are constantly in the labor due to the Employment Agency’s support. Besides the challenge of meeting the demand for employees, the manufacturing sector faces a production challenge, considering its high dependence on imports.