Some 25% of the Romanian companies, particularly in sectors such as hospitality or constructions but more recently business process solutions and IT&C, consider importing workers to fill their vacancies, according to PwC’s PayWell report.

The demand is still predominantly oriented toward seasonal workers and low-skilled workers, though. The experts warn of acute workforce shortage caused by migration, ageing and problematic education system, according to PwC - which estimates that in order to support a steady 3.5% annual growth rate Romania needs 1 million more employees by 2022.

Workforce import can be a short-time fix but, on medium and long term, companies should focus on implementing programs for the education and development of their own employees, according to Ionut Sas, Partner, People & Organization Leader PwC Romania.

Besides needing 1 million more employees in the next three years, Romania faces the challenge of having 600,000 jobs exposed to the digital transformation, out of which 275,000 could be replaced by automation.

As a potential solution to the workforce scarcity, Romania has the third-highest share of inactive population among the EU Member States.

The inactive population is concentrated in areas with limited employment opportunity and some companies have already implemented education or vocational training programs in these areas.

Excluding retirees and the population over 15 years of age who are in education, over 1.1 million people are theoretically available to be employed, according to PwC.

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editor@romania-insider.com