Employers and business owners in Kosovo can expect staff shortages in the upcoming months, as workers are expected to travel to Europe, following the visa liberalisation agreement entering into force on January 1, 2024.
A recent survey revealed that 80.3 per cent of 3,050 respondents, have travel plans for 2024, indicating that Kosovars are excited for a year full of trips. However, this can lead to a shortage in staff across all industries in the country.
Liridon Hoti, manager of a company located in the capital of Kosovo, who is responsible for more than 40 employees, confirms that fewer workers have taken days off for the December holidays.
According to Hoti, workers are saving their days off for the spring season, after visa liberalisation becomes effective and in time for them to save up for their trips. This further corresponds to the survey findings that the majority of respondents will travel in the February-March period and need one to three months to save up enough money to finance their Europe trips.
The situation impacts our business greatly, but we are trying to treat it as a regular season.
In an effort to fill in missing workers, Hoti says that his management team will delegate tasks in a more efficient manner and offer more flexibility for employees – many of whom will be able to travel to the EU for the first time.
Local media in Kosovo has also reported that more than 300 staff in educational institutions have asked for days off and might leave the country altogether.
The responsible authorities have the exact figures, but according to our data, around 300 education workers have requested unpaid leave for a year.
Jasharaj is concerned that many of them can be looking into opportunities abroad and not return to the country. This can also be related to some of the requests that workers had at the beginning of the year for improved working and payment conditions, which were vaguely ignored.
Rrahmanaj further noted that the Union is not satisfied with the payment conditions and that estranged workers cannot be substituted easily.
A previous survey by SchengenVisaInfo.com revealed that around 37 per cent of the respondents had immigration plans to the EU after visa liberalisation, with Germany being the main destination.
