135,000 foreign workers employed in Croatia, most from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

(Patria) - The need for importing labor in Croatia is growing, writes HRT.

It is expected that by the end of this year, more than 200,000 employer requests for hiring foreigners could arrive.

Foreigners already make up 40 percent of the total workforce in construction, and their share is increasing in tourism and trade.

Their position on the labor market was discussed at yesterday's conference of Večernji list "Croatia as we need it".

135,000 foreign workers are employed in Croatia. Most come from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while about 30,000 come from Nepal, India, and the Philippines.

All of them already make up 40 percent of the total workforce in construction, and they are indispensable in tourism as well.

- We estimate that this year there will be between 50 and 55 thousand foreign workers from third countries.

Last year, about 46,000 permits were issued, so the trend is upward - said Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.

Companies that employ them face numerous challenges. Primarily of an integrative nature, says the director of a company where they make up half of the employees.

- One of the key challenges is language barriers; at one point we had as many as six translators in the company - says Dragutin Kamenski, owner of a construction company.

And the minister says that consideration is being given to making Croatian language learning a requirement soon. For now, with vouchers, only those who want to learn it do so.

- This will certainly be one of the stages, as it exists in other Western countries - says Marin Piletić, Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy.

Knowledge of the language is one of the most important prerequisites for integration, says Cheria, who arrived from Uganda 10 years ago.

- I am great at work and I love my job as a nurse. I know I don't speak as I should, but I know that one day I will be a true Croatian - says Cheria Aber.

There are currently as many as 700 agencies on the market that bring in foreign workers.

- And at the same time, hearing the fact that 450,000 people in Croatia between the ages of 20 and 64 are inactive but able to work is something that will need to be reconciled - said Ivan Šipić, Minister of Demography and Immigration.