Lack of qualified manpower hurting Slovakia, warns Klub 500

Slovak employers are facing a lack of employable candidates, warned representatives of Klub 500 (an association of companies with at least 500 employees) on Tuesday. Insufficient manpower is putting production and the future growth of the Slovak economy in danger, claims the organisation. They name easing the process of employing foreigners as one of the potential solutions. Klub 500 Executive Director Tibor Gregor said that he appreciated the Government's interest in resolving this issue, but he's worried that the topic is becoming a part of some politicians' populist agenda. However, Slovak citizens could also help to resolve the issue. "If the state and public administration were to be made more efficient, up to 120,000 employees out of 420,000 could be let go. We're prepared to pay for the requalification of these people out of our own pockets," said Gregor.