Polish labour market in 2019 - forecasts
The shape of the Polish labour market in the following years is influenced by many different factors that dynamically redefine the principles of its functioning. Last year, employers had to face both the search and employment of suitable employees, as well as with their retention for longer time. Can problems with filling human resources gaps be even greater in 2019?
Certainly, the opening of Western European markets for Ukrainian employees may pose a big challenge for Polish employers. Germany will soon become a particularly attractive country for migrants, which will facilitate the policy of employing workers from the East. This factor may affect the treatment of our labour market as a “temporary” place.
Employers may also be troubled by the aspect of waiting for workers from the Far East - for example from Nepal or India. For standard production plans, the waiting period for an employee taking from 6 to 8 months is a difficult obstacle. Of course, employment agencies and outsourcing companies that bet on appropriate recruitment and mobility are adapted to verify the source of acquiring such employees, but they often collide with the impotence of the state system - most often provincial offices and consular offices - who consider applications many times longer than provided for in the right.
An additional difficulty will also be the lack of announced changes in the Labour Market Act, which were to extend the period of work performed without a permit by foreigners from selected countries to 12 months in the next 18 months, and not as it is now - 6 months in the next 12 months.
Despite the risk related to the opening of markets of other countries to employees from the East, Poland will still be an attractive place for economic migration. This is related to the very low linguistic, cultural and geographical isolation of our country, which allows foreigners easier contact with their families. An important role will also be played by work agencies and outsourcing companies, who understand the dynamics and direction of processes, prepare in advance for changes and can provide employers with comprehensive services.
