site.btaTurkiye Needs around 1 Mln Qualified Workers in Various Sectors

The problem with finding qualified workers in Turkiye in many leading sectors of the economy is worsening, with some 1 million specialists now needed, the Turkish Sabah daily writes. Given these difficulties, employers and the the authorities are considering attracting ever more foreign workers.

Qualified workers are needed in almost all sectors: from industry to construction, from agriculture to tourism. Representatives of these sectors complain that they cannot find qualified personnel despite the high salaries offered.

The problem is especially big in the manufacturing sector, where wages have doubled to find qualified employees. For example, the salary of a crane operator in the construction sector exceeds TRY 120,000 (BGN 6,280). The salary of a worker in heavy industry reaches TRY 80,000 (BGN 4,180).

In the agricultural sector, where the problem of seasonal workers is worsening by the day, the daily wage reaches TRY 2,000 to 3,000 (BGN 104 to 156), while shepherds' wages reach TRY 60,000 (BGN 3,135).

For Turkiye, these wages are relatively high, considering that the minimum net wage is TRY 17,000 (BGN 888).

There is also a problem in the tourism sector in Turkiye.

According to Muberra Eresin, head of the Turkish Hoteliers Association, 1.7 million people are employed in the tourism sector. Considering the authorities' plans to increase the number of guest arrivals to 100 million a year, at least another 100,000 employees will be needed in hotels and tourism services. Currently, some 22,000 foreigners already work in the tourism sector in Turkiye, Eresin said.

Due to the problem of finding qualified staff, businesses and the authorities are discussing the issue of attracting additional significant numbers of foreign workers. To this end, the Ministry of Trade is considering options to facilitate the issuance of work and residence permits to such workers and options to accommodate them in hostels.
A number of enterprises and companies in the construction sector have already built houses or hostels for foreign workers.

In the livestock sector, workers from Afghanistan and Syria are being recruited and accommodated in rural houses, Sabah reported.