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Skills Shortages Leave UK Door Ajar for New EU Workers
February 2007
As Romania and Bulgaria prepare to join the European Union on Monday, employers are investigating the two countries’ labour markets in a bid to fill skill shortages, say recruitment agencies.
Britain has opted to limit access to Romanian and Bulgarian workers after their accession on January 1, except in the case of migrants capable of meeting particular demands.
Such treatment is the same as for workers from non-EU countries and is in contrast to that meted out to migrants from eastern and central European states such as Poland and Lithuania that joined in 2004 and were immediately given free access to British jobs.
Although the open door has been shut to Romanians and Bulgarians and a rush of workers from the two states is thought unlikely, there are still opportunities for migrants in sectors suffering from severe skill shortages, say recruiters.
According to James Strickland, group director of Omega Resource Recruitment Company, some North Sea oil and gas companies are considering employing Romanian engineers. The industry has a long tradition of employing foreign labour, to fill severe skills shortages, he said.
Omega planned to open an office in Bucharest to find labour for customers, including the oil and gas sector, said Mr Strickland.
Construction, health and education are also suffering skills shortages that might attract Romanian and Bulgarian migrants, said George Parvanov, group manager of ConsulTeam, which operates in both countries and was recently acquired by Vadiore one of the world’s largest recruitment agencies.
“There are already a few hundred Bulgarian and Romanian teachers working in the UK and this is likely to grow” said Mr Parvanov
With the 2012 Olympic Games looming, the construction industry was also “facing a shortage of qualified construction workers and engineers” One stumbling block however, could be the acceptability in the UK of Romanian and Bulgarian qualifications.
Healthcare also offered opportunities for work although recruitment may be restricted by financial pressures on NHS trusts. A nurse’s salary in Bulgarian is about £120-£140 a month, and a good doctor could earn £250 - £400 a month. UK salaries by comparison are about 10 times higher, said Mr Parvanov.
He said, “ In my opinion the fears that there will be a wave of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrant workers arriving in the UK on January 1 are exaggerated. Many of those who wanted to leave have already done so. The majority of local people would prefer to work in southern Europe due to the similarities in culture and climate. For example Romanian and Bulgarian workers are more likely to choose Spain, France Italy and Greece ahead of the UK.”
Nonetheless, there were “huge opportunities” for recruitment companies seeking to establish themselves in Romania and Bulgaria for exporting labour to other EU countries and importing other workers to fill local jobs as their economies expanded after accession.
“Romania is looking to plug the gaps with people from Moldova and Ukraine. The Varna shipyard in Bulgaria has already made arrangements to take on 50 workers from Ukraine on January 1 and there is a queue of around 10,000 Macedonians intending to apply for citizenship. Bulgaria will also bring in workers from Turkey for the booming summer season” said Mr Parvanov.
Manpower, the global recruitment agency, said this month it was opening a branch in Sofia.
Monster, the world’s largest online recruitment agency, also plans to step up its presence.
Source: Financial Times February 2007
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