“We are now selecting the employees in Vietnam, we turned to a recruitment agency. We will bring 300 welders and locksmiths at first. We need labor, we’ve got a lot of orders for ships. We can’t find welders and locksmiths in Romania anymore,” Tudorel Topa, shipyard manager told ZF. Topa will step down from his position this year.
The experienced Romanian welders left to work in Germany, Finland or UK where they make EUR2,000 to EUR3,000 per month. An experience welder makes up to 3,000 lei (EUR670) per month in Romania, according to market data.
Tulcea shipyard is the biggest employer in Tulcea County with 2,500 employees and one of the biggest exporters in the country’s economy. National Statistics Institute data show unemployment in the county to have been 5.3% last year and 5.1% this March.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)