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Bakeries and pastry shops are at risk of being left without employees / Association: Employment from Asian countries and the region

2023-09-11 07:48:00, Ekonomi CNA

Bakeries and pastry shops are at risk of being left without employees /

Illustrative photo

The producers of bread, various specialty doughs and pastries are facing a marked lack of labor force.

In the impossibility of finding a solution to fill the vacancies with locals, despite the continuous efforts of the industry that with the increase in wages, the bakeries and pastry shops of the country are considering the possibility of hiring foreigners.

The Chairman of the Association of Bread, Confectionery and Pastry Producers, Gëzim Peshkopia, told Monitor that the sector has been suffering from a lack of specialists in the production of dough and sweets for years, but this year the problem is very acute.

Mr. Peshkopia asserts that the reason for the high lack of specialized workforce remains the emigration of the population.

Faced with this situation, dough and cake production entrepreneurs are considering the possibility of hiring foreign workers from both Asian and regional countries.

According to the data of the association, 8,000 to 10,000 bakeries and pastry shops operate in the country, where each of them is suffering from a lack of labor force.

"The lack of specialized workforce in the production of dough and sweets requires immediate solutions. Despite the continuous efforts undertaken by the sector which started with occasional wage increases, almost all bakeries in the country are facing difficulties in finding manpower. For this reason, manufacturing businesses are already open to considering opportunities for hiring foreign specialists with similar experience from Asian countries and those of the region," he asserted.

Since September last year, due to the lack of workers, many bakeries in the country have been forced to increase wages by up to 80%, in order to retain professionals. According to the association for the position of the baker, the most important profession in the production of dough, salaries vary from 60,000 Lek to 100,000 Lek per month. The high salary increase was also made for cleaning workers at the level of 70 to 80%.

Labor shortages are adding costs to bread producers as well. Wage increases made the situation difficult for some bakeries, which increased bread prices by 10 to 20 Lek.

The acute problem of the labor force is already present in all sectors of the economy. Earlier, the producers of soft drinks also claimed that they are looking at the possibilities of hiring foreigners, although initially the industry was reluctant due to the problem with the departure of foreigners that many businesses are facing.

The bar and service sector this year at the start of the tourist season faced a shortage of 15,000 employees. The manufacturing sector is also facing a high labor shortage. Pro Export Albania previously told Monitor that for January-June 2023, 450 women from Nepal and the Philippines were hired to fill the shortage of local workers./ Monitor Magazine