“The biggest mistake of the Education Ministry was dissolving vocational schools. The Romanian industry needs skilled workers who are really hard to find now. I’ve got 600 skilled workers in my plant but 80% of them are aged over 55, so they will be retiring in a few years from now.”
A young welder, electrician or locksmith makes 2,000 lei (EUR445) in gross amount per month at first but may earn as much as RON4,500 to RON5,000 in a few years, Blidar says.
“We can’t find specialized workforce on the market, so we are training it ourselves at the vocational school we opened last year after trying to for eight years. We pay for three years of education, provide accommodations and after graduation, the young people must work in our plant for five years,” the industrialist said.
The shortage of skilled labor affects most companies with plants in the west of the country, which is a barrier against their development. Blidar is one of the few Romanian entrepreneurs who owns plants built during the massive industrialization drive in Romania in the ‘70s and ‘80s. (EUR1=RON4.4909)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)