(NewsroomPanama)Panama could be heading for a skilled labor shortage in 2011 as multiple projects compete for a limited pool of qualified people.
The good news is that state infrastructure projects could create 34,000 direct jobs in the coming years.
The downside is that there is a lack of skilled labor to build, and manage the ten projects that are underway or about to start simultaneously.
Government estimates, list 34 projects, some underway and others still on the drawing board.
The construction of the first Metro line, will employ some 3 000 people from 2011 to 2013. But 2011 is also the year that work begins on the
third set of locks for the Panama Canal extension. That will call for over 6,000 workers
According to analysts and experts in the labor market, says La Prensa the number of people trained will not grow on par with the works, and it is likely that by 2013 demand will exceed supply.
This is also likely to push the cost of labor up.
The director of the consultancy, Insight Economy, Jovany Morales, told La Prensa that he estimates estimated that from 2011 there will be a “bottleneck” and that 2014 will be a critical year.
The Ricardo Martinelli administration is already beginning to say in forums and meetings with entrepreneurs that if the country lacks the necessary personnel it should import people from abroad.
The amount of labor needed may increase as new projects go up for tender, like government Financial Tower on the site of the former US embassy or the convention center in Amador.
In October, Manpower Panama presented the results of the Talent Shortage Survey 2010, which identified difficulty in finding workers.
Thirty eight percent of employers in Panama have difficulty filling key positions within their organizations.
Currently the most difficult to fill jobs are: technicians, sales managers, secretaries, personal assistants, administrative assistants and administrative support personnel, accounting and finance staff.