General Manager and Senior Consultant of Slovenian CFR partner company Trescon, Petra Treven Bernat, stressed the challenges of finding the right people for the leading business newspaper called Finance in Slovenia. The article was titled: Companies sending buses out of the country to import foreign labour force, subtitled: There are no unemployed people in Slovenia anymore – just employed and the ones non employable at all. Ms Treven Bernat explains the country specifics in the article by saying: There aren’t many foreign workers in the middle management in Slovenia
“In order to solve the talent shortage companies use different approaches, short-term and long-term measures. In Maribor area (Northeast of Slovenia) for the first time in Slovenia a model from Austria building future labour market via dual education system will be used. In four years’ time this measure will produce a small but still significant number of talents who already have far more job oriented experience and competencies than graduates of non marketable professions. But to fill the gaps and shortages, companies will use more headhunting as ever, but talent will still need to be imported if there is not enough at home.” Large potential is seen by Ms Petra Treven Bernat also in the awakening elderly population just ready to be retired and currently perceived as uninteresting in the local market, but owning parts of the competences. But in the article she is also adding that “when it comes to positions like experts and middle management, there are not many foreigners in Slovenia. Trescon has been searching for top positions also abroad. While addressing different candidates in the segment of high end finance and investment banking she found out that salaries were no longer higher in the West compared to East of Europe, but it is still people from Eastern Europe who are more attracted to move to Slovenia, historically being more aware of its advantages.