The professionals are, but they are deciding to leave

This week’s special magazine report attempts to provide a detailed overview of the shortage of workers in key sectors of the economy.

A few years ago, under the slogan “there is work, but there are no professionals”, the government tried to justify the problem, finding as the culprit the lack of desire on the part of the public to work. Since then, two developments seem to have debunked the fable.

First, economic growth is not reflected in wage growth. The economic theory is quite clear: when you can’t buy a product, you have to offer more. Thus, Albanian companies should also try to increase salaries while complaining about staff shortages. The dilemma was whether companies could justify the wage increase based on revenue.

Data for the period 2014-’19 show that, however anemic, the economy continued to grow at an average rate of almost 3% per year. But in the meantime, real wages, according to INSTAT data, did not follow this pace at all, simply following the rate of inflation during these years.

Rightfully so, the topic of inequality began to be discussed more and more in public. However little, the country’s economy continued to grow, but its fruits were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Professionals wanted to work, but wages were not keeping pace.

The second development that overturned the fable was the mass emigration of the same period. Although official data is often unclear, it is thought that around 400,000 Albanian citizens left the country during this period in search of permanent or temporary employment. All this showed that Albanians were willing to work, even away from their families, but in exchange for a proper salary, or in search of a stable career.

Unofficial indicators pointed to an initial exodus of young professionals, mainly in the 30-40 age group. Attracted by dynamic sectors such as programming, medicine, finance, they made up a significant portion of immigrants in 2014-19. But, as this week’s report shows, the trend is continuing in other sectors of the economy, including those considered “unskilled workers”.

Construction, fashion, hotel-tourism are suffering significantly from the lack of labor, as potential employees of the sector are looking more and more towards emigration.

It is already clear that this is a major problem for the Albanian economy and society!

What is not yet clear is the way out of this problem. Albanian businesses are trying to overcome it by importing cheaper labor from countries poorer than Albania, often from South and Southeast Asia.

But this appears to be a short-term and unsustainable move. If Albanian workers are targeting the rich markets of the continent, why shouldn’t the employees who are aiming to approach Albanian businesses do the same? The economic development gap between Albania and the most developed countries of the continent means that our country is, at best, just a short-term stop for those employees who, like the Albanians, aim for Western Europe.

The preservation and growth of human capital in Albania seems to be related to the systemic problems affecting the Albanian economy and politics.

Simply put, the main companies of the country are those that benefit from tenders, concessions or public licenses. Very few of them invest in innovation or human capital development, as long as the benefit depends on political connection rather than economic performance.

On the other hand, the lack of rotation of the elite in politics means that the profitable companies are always the same, removing new competitors from the market. All this creates a job market where opportunities for professional growth and development are few.

As long as Albania does not find a solution to these problems, the chances are that the emigration of human capital will continue at today’s rates. Apparently, professionals are choosing work, even away from family, and not the borders of ghost companies./ Monitor

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