“Red tape is huge; the process to bring labor from Vietnam is cumbersome. We’ve only brought 20 workers from Vietnam so far (out of 300 welders and locksmiths put on the list i.e.),” Tudorel Topa, manager of the Vard Tulcea shipyard, told ZF.
The company has 2,850 employees but to be able to fulfill its orders, the shipyard needs 3,500, Topa added.
“We have recently signed a contract for schooling students as locksmiths and welders, two classes of 28 students each. We will hire them for our yard,” he said.
The shipyard signed an agreement with the `Anghel Saligny` College and Tulcea city hall to train students and secure employees.
The shipyard posted 335 million lei (EUR73 million) revenue last year, compared with RON808 million in 2015, but made RON4.2 million profit compared with RON23 million loss. (EUR1=RON4.5737)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)