site.btaConstruction Sector Continues to Lack Skilled Labour
NW 16:19:01 13-05-2019
LN1618NW.117
117 ECONOMY - CONSTRUCTION - LABOUR MARKET - PROBLEMS
Construction Sector
Continues to Lack
Skilled Labour
Sofia, April 25 (BTA) - The construction sector is concerned about the lack of skilled labour, and there is a serious threat to the implementation of projects in the water and sewerage sector under Operational Programme Environment, Blagoy Kozarev of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber (BCC) said at a press conference Thursday.
Experts explained that the main problems remain expropriation, archaeology, quality projects, the grey sector, public procurement appeals, and the criterion for lowest prices set in auctions.
Blagoy Kozarev noted that 190 procurements under OP Environment for 350 construction sites for over 1.2 billion leva will be implemented. "We hoped that these projects be completed at least a year or six months earlier, but, once again, they pile up at the end of the programming period," he commented.
Kozarev said that the projects approved in the past weeks had been in development for three years. In 2018, salaries in the water and sewerage sector went up by 17 per cent (compared to 15 per cent in other construction sectors), but the prices of the projects cannot be changed, which is why the BCC proposes to find a mechanism to adjust projects' costs together with the State.
Companies are concerned about whether they will find workers for the projects and hope their implementation begins as soon as possible, as deadlines are short and workers might have to be imported since Bulgarian specialists leave for other European countries.
The BCC trains 5,000 people annually, a significant share of whom leave to work in Europe. Meanwhile, Bulgaria rates last in the hourly wage ranking, with a wage of 3.16 euro, and work visa regulations are still in need of mitigation.
Experts count on the fast-track introduction of digitalization in the construction process, as it will allow for control at all times of every stage of the projects' implementation. IG/TH
/СН/
//
LN1618NW.117
117 ECONOMY - CONSTRUCTION - LABOUR MARKET - PROBLEMS
Construction Sector
Continues to Lack
Skilled Labour
Sofia, April 25 (BTA) - The construction sector is concerned about the lack of skilled labour, and there is a serious threat to the implementation of projects in the water and sewerage sector under Operational Programme Environment, Blagoy Kozarev of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber (BCC) said at a press conference Thursday.
Experts explained that the main problems remain expropriation, archaeology, quality projects, the grey sector, public procurement appeals, and the criterion for lowest prices set in auctions.
Blagoy Kozarev noted that 190 procurements under OP Environment for 350 construction sites for over 1.2 billion leva will be implemented. "We hoped that these projects be completed at least a year or six months earlier, but, once again, they pile up at the end of the programming period," he commented.
Kozarev said that the projects approved in the past weeks had been in development for three years. In 2018, salaries in the water and sewerage sector went up by 17 per cent (compared to 15 per cent in other construction sectors), but the prices of the projects cannot be changed, which is why the BCC proposes to find a mechanism to adjust projects' costs together with the State.
Companies are concerned about whether they will find workers for the projects and hope their implementation begins as soon as possible, as deadlines are short and workers might have to be imported since Bulgarian specialists leave for other European countries.
The BCC trains 5,000 people annually, a significant share of whom leave to work in Europe. Meanwhile, Bulgaria rates last in the hourly wage ranking, with a wage of 3.16 euro, and work visa regulations are still in need of mitigation.
Experts count on the fast-track introduction of digitalization in the construction process, as it will allow for control at all times of every stage of the projects' implementation. IG/TH
/СН/
//
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