03 April 2019 - The conclusion of the Panel discussion “Employ Local” is that recruiting domestic labour is beneficial to everyone - workers, employers and the state. This public campaign launched just before the tourist season, was organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Employment Service of Montenegro. The assembly, whose aim is to hire unemployed people from Montenegro during the summer, was opened by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Kemal Purišić.
During the panel discussion, it was estimated that all individuals should be socially responsible and give their contribution to the community and the country they live in. Labour and Social Welfare Minister Kemal Purišić said that one of the key priorities in the work of the Government of Montenegro was to achieve more dynamic economic growth and development as a prerequisite for raising the standard of living of citizens.
“In the previous period, the Government has worked hard in order to create the conditions for job creation and efficient functioning of the labour market, with the increase of the workforce and overall employment, especially in the private sector. Reduction of unemployment was one of the main priorities, with the aim of achieving better economic growth and strengthening the competitiveness of domestic economy,” Purišić said.
The Minister highlighted that workforce should be made more competitive before Montenegro joins the European Union, because later on, by the liberalization of the labour market, human resources will try to go to EU countries, where income and working conditions are at a higher level.
According to the conclusions of the panel discussion, Montenegro reduces the number of unemployed persons year after year. To meet the summer tourist season, the demand for seasonal workers has already begun.
Director of Employment Service, Suljo Mustafić, said that according to estimates of the Employment Bureau, this summer will require about 20,000 seasonal workers on the coast.
“That's an opportunity for appeal to both the unemployed and employers. We appeal to the unemployed to take this chance and apply for seasonal work and we ask the employers to have faith in domestic workers, because there are really many reasons for that. Greater job engagement of the domestic labour force in the season contributes to the inflow of funds into the budget, which we all consider to be very important, "Mustafić said.
Through the Bureau, until now, nearly 10,000 people have been employed during the summer. The ambition of this institution is that this number gets to about 11,000 this year.
"I believe that we will respond to this challenge despite the scarcity of offerings of tourism and hospitality services professionals. In order to be more successful in dealing with this problem, Montenegro should introduce the category of permanent seas, following the practice of developed countries. That kind of support for seasonal workers would make it possible for them to be tied to employers throughout the year, which would be a powerful stimulus to remain in Montenegro,” the director of the Bureau said.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dragan Pejanović, who also spoke during the panel discussion, believes that it is important to raise the level of employers' confidence in the skills and knowledge of the domestic workforce and that interest in seasonal work will also be increased.
"What makes a destination on the world travel map special - is the service. In that sense, our goal is to hire high quality workforce each year. However, our vision is to increase the number of domestic workers in this area from year to year,” said Brajović, Director General of the Directorate for Development of Tourism Competitiveness.
During the panel conference, a constructive dialogue was attended by representatives of the Montenegrin Chamber of Economy, the Union of Employers, the Tax Administration, the Inspection Directorate, the Centre for Professional Education, the Montenegrin Tourist Association, the Association of Tourism and Hospitality Board, UCG Student Union and representatives of employers from coastal municipalities in Montenegro.
