The Czech labour market is ageing, foreigners are the solution

Demographic developments in the Czech Republic clearly show that the domestic labour force will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the labour market in the coming decades. According to expert estimates, approximately one million workers will retire from the market over the next 15 to 20 years, bringing with it additional economic challenges ranging from securing pensions to rising healthcare costs.

The need for labour migration

Companies across industries are therefore already warning that without the involvement of foreign workers, the Czech economy will not keep pace. Jan Rafaj, president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport, stressed in a discussion on ČT24 that the hiring of qualified professionals must be significantly faster and that employees with lower qualifications need better protection from dishonest employers.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs therefore increased the quotas for workers from outside the European Union from July and differentiated them by country. In addition, “fast track” approval processes have been introduced for selected professions and regions.

It is not about competition for local workers

Fears that foreigners are depriving Czechs of jobs have long been refuted by statistics. There is still a shortage of people in the labour market for both highly professional positions and for manual jobs. This is also shown by the example of Ukrainian refugees – although around 600,000 of them remain in the Czech Republic and most of them are working, the demand for labour by employers remains high.

Digitalisation as the key to faster integration

However, the complex and slow process of recruiting workers from third countries remains a problem. The administrative burden hinders companies and applicants themselves. Representatives of the business sector are therefore calling for acceleration of the digitisation of the entire system. According to them, electronic processing of applications would significantly reduce the time needed to fill posts and increase the transparency of the procedure.

Jan Rafaj stresses that if Czech companies fail to acquire foreign experts within days, another country will acquire them sooner. Low unemployment is not only a problem in our country, but throughout Europe. Competition for skilled workers will continue to intensify in the coming years. It is therefore essential for the Czech Republic to establish a transparent, fast, and fair labour migration system that will enable economic growth while ensuring decent conditions for foreign workers.