How to deal with Latvia's labour shortage?

Latvian companies are trying to recruit people from Ukraine and Belarus to counter labour shortages caused not just by a booming economy but also the fact that hundreds of thousands have left the country in recent years in search of better jobs. Latvia's media call on the government to take action.

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Dienas Bizness (LV) /

Improve recruitment and training

Building contractor Baiba Fromane hopes in Dienas bizness that the government will take appropriate steps:

“The construction sector is booming, but unfortunately this also brings a lack of manpower. The new government should develop a far-reaching approach and take decisive action. ... Seven out of ten vacant jobs are in construction. The cabinet's provisions regarding simplified requirements and shorter processing times for recruiting foreign workers should be extended to jobs requiring unskilled labour, but also to certain openings requiring skilled workers. ... However, the problem also needs long-term solutions, including better training for specialists in the construction sector.”

Diena (LV) /

Higher pay and higher spirits

Diena knows what would keep the Latvians in their home country:

“For the inhabitants of our country to stay here we need competitive salaries and social guarantees. We should also be able to trust our politicians if the economy stops growing and shrinks instead. The politicians must be able to navigate the ship of state through all the financial storms. The psychological mood in society is also important. People shouldn't leave the country because they're tired of listening to all the moaning about everything being so bad in Latvia and it's always the others who are to blame. And that all over Europe there are better paid jobs to be had and livelier societies.”