Firms fighting over skilled labor

By Cat Contiguglia and Megan Battista

STAFF WRITERS

Manufacturers laid off too many workers in response to economic crisis, and, as business slowly picks up, can't find workers with the skills they need, according to a survey by consulting firm PwC.

More than 40 percent of businesses cut jobs in 2009 and 2010, according to a poll of Czech CEOs, and tight finances are limiting their ability to attract skilled employees whose loyalty has been "pushed to its limits," experts said.

"Businesses now realize they may have downsized more than necessary," said Andrew Krenek, director of HR consulting at PwC. "Due to decreased engagement, they have lost their key talent and now need to hire more people to fill the gap and for their increased - albeit slightly - orders."

"As the automotive sector is quite strong in the Czech Republic, both manufacturers and auto-part suppliers see a lack of talent," he added.

The dearth of technically talented workers has been described in countless industry surveys in recent years and is often attributed to shortfalls in the education system. Technical schools are said to lack the innovative programs that make technical education rewarding, and business leaders complain that recent graduates lack creative problem-solving skills.

"In the long term, there is a lack of qualified labor in the Czech automotive industry, especially [people who are] technically educated and able to speak a foreign language," said Radek Kňava, spokesman for TPCA, the joint-venture between Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroen in the Czech Republic.

"To ensure more talented workers in the future, we support the development of technical education in high schools."

An oft-prescribed remedy to the lack of skilled workers is greater cooperation between technical schools and future employers.

Managers' perception that their employees lack talent is partly due to a "mismatch" in expectations between employers and new members of the work force as new employees expect orientation periods while employers expect "results right from the beginning," Krenek said.

The writers can be reached at business@praguepost.com