8 hours agoTwo realities in Kosovo: Plants empty, ICT growing
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)There is work in Kosovo, but there is not always anyone to do it. The factories, construction and trade in Kosovo are facing a serious lack of labour power. As citizens leave for higher salaries in European Union countries (BE), some sectors like information technology and communication (TIK) are reaching [...]
The factories, construction and trade in Kosovo are facing a serious lack of labour power.
As citizens leave for higher wages in European Union countries (BE), some sectors like information and communication technology (TIK) are managing to maintain the workforce in the country, providing better conditions and new opportunities.
The departure of workers is bothering producer Berat Mustafa, who heads the Fluidi Group company in Gjilan, which produces fresh oil and drink.
For two years, he says 15 workers were fired, most of them for a new job in EU countries.
The “all of the workers who have left are not simple workers who are technical, technologists, engineers and so on. This is the biggest concern”, Mustafa tells Radio Free Europe (REL).
He shows that they had recently opened a work competition for two technologists, and that no one had applied.
Data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK) shows that in just three years, from the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2023, over 105 thousand citizens have left Kosovo. Data for 2024 is still not available, but this trend has continued, especially after visa liberalisation for Kosovo for the EU area.
But, as workers leave, it's not Arian Fazliu who runs the software company Box in Pristina, as well as many other companies in the ICT field.
“The co-operation of Kosovo companies with foreign companies has brought new projects, which, subsequently, enable even better conditions for the workers of this industry”, Fazliu says of the REL.
Fazliu has about 35 employees, and most of them are working from home, but he says that offers and demands on the labour market in the ICT sector are balanced.
Why are factory workers missing, but not for the ICT field? The answer, according to experts, is simple - wages and prospects.
Anisa Zogaj, an researcher at the GAP Institute in Pristina, says that because of the comparison they have made to Kosovo's salaries in the same sector as wages in Germany, it turns out that even when they adjust to the cost of living in Germany, they are at least twice higher than in Kosovo.
But that difference in wages is not even in the ICT sector.
“Patas in ICT companies are not based solely on the local labour market, as there are many people working in this sector, but offer services to various international companies, which make the sector more attractive”, Zogaj says.
Mustafa says in his company, the average salary is between 700 and 800 euros, while, according to Fazliu, the average salary in ICT companies is up to twice as high.
How has the Government addressed the problem of fleeing workers from Kosovo?
From Kosovo's incumbent government, they have said that over four years they have supported businesses with potential production and subsidised investment loans.
“We have also had measures to subsidise workers' salary increases and subsidisation of salaries for new workers through Superpuda” platform, said incumbent Government spokesman Kryeziu in a statement on the matter REL-in, broadcast. Periscope.
The executive claims that the long-term and sustainable resolution is the connection of education to the labour market,”, which they say are living it.
According to them, dual education profiles were assigned through dialogue with different industries in Kosovo, so that they can respond to market needs.
According to government data, dual education is currently under way in 12 profiles in 23 professional schools within 14 municipalities.
Replacement of workers is not difficult for ICT companies, because even when there is innovation in the job, the solution is simple, Fazliu says from the box.
We stay well with the workforce, because it's very easy to convert from the traditional programmer to new technologies programmers, which will be required in the years to come”, he says.
But the solution within Kosovo is not easy to find.
We have no choice but to think about bringing in these professional workers from Asia, so that production does not stop”, says Berat Mustafa.
From the GAP Institute warn that if this trend of departure of professionals and workers continues, Kosovo could face a reduction of production in an economy that, as well, is highly dependent on imports.
We need to focus on mobilizing the inactive workforce in Kosovo to replace the gap created by the migration of workers”, Zogaj says.
According to her, most free jobs require practical skills that can be learned in a short time, and can be met with the highest female participation in the labour market.
This recommendation for Kosovo was given last year by the World Bank in its regular economic report to Western Balkan countries.
“in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the focus should be on reforms in the labour market and social protection, which would help increase participation in the workforce, including increasing women's participation in the labour market”, the report writes.
According to a recent poll by the AKS, published on May 22, 2025, the rate of inactivity in women continues to be high.
About 74 percent of women aged 15 to 64 are not working and are not looking for a job, while this measurement in males results in 39.4 percent. /Periscope/
