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With the shortage of talent reaching all-time highs, national employers are finding it increasingly difficult to fill the vacancies they put on the market due to a lack of qualified workers.
Currently, 67% of Portuguese employers have some difficulty finding the right candidates and 18% have a lot of difficulty in hiring, which reveals a value for the talent shortage of 85% and which reinforces the trend compared to 2021, with an increase of 15 percentage points.
This value places Portugal above the global average, which is at 75%, but also as the second country in the world where employers have the most difficulty in hiring, being just below Taiwan (88%), reveals the “Talent Shortage Survey 2022 ″, powered by ManpowerGroup.
According to a report by ECO: “We are currently experiencing a period of great dynamism in the labour market, with employers showing greater optimism in hiring for the coming months. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, for the period from July to September, employers have a projection for net job creation of 37%. However, these hiring intentions may be moderated by the highest levels of talent shortage in six years”, begins by saying Rui Teixeira, country manager at ManpowerGroup Portugal.
“We are thus witnessing two opposing trends, with the demand for skills by employers not being matched by the supply of talent with the desired qualifications. This context has an impact on all sectors of activity, creating greater competitiveness in the search for talent, but also the need for employers to create value propositions aligned with the preferences of professionals, who today go through flexible work models, development possibilities or even a greater sense of organisational purpose, beyond compensation,” he added, quoted in a statement.
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Not everyone has the means to get out of here and get their skills recognized elsewhere; what happens is that if you are hardworking and honest person in Portugal, unpleasant things happen. Translation: your colleagues resent you, bc now s.o. is actually working( vs the vegetative state convenient for the “harmony of the whole”), your boss will try to exploit you into doing your share and others´. Then, if you have a c.v. that shows you´re dynamic, like to learn a lot of things, what should be a plus in a c.v.: no one will hire you, your boss won´t like to look at you and be reminded of that. Talent shortage/brain drain In Portugal explained (for dummies, lol).
By guida from Lisbon on 31 May 2022, 04:27
It's not a talent shortage...Portugal has excellent universities...It's a wage shortage...When you see strikes constantly from Doctors to Railroad workers...Folks will go where they are paid and treated best...period!
By Sakamoto Suarez from Lisbon on 31 May 2022, 07:02
From the moment they will start paying decent wages and treat us: the workers as human beings the all abundant Portuguese talent will stop migrate to other countries, me included.
By Paulo Jorge Morais Costa from Other on 31 May 2022, 12:09
No news make me happier. Pay the right amount to people. Simple as that.
By Diogo F. from Madeira on 31 May 2022, 22:49
Portugal talent shortage is due to poor schooling especially with English , and further along the need for system needs to teach relevant subjects for today. Business, science and perf p romance and client focus
By William Brown from Lisbon on 01 Jun 2022, 10:58
As a highly educated Portuguese happily employed elsewhere, I can vehemently confirm it is definitely not a talent shortage but actually the opposite: a lack of attractive career opportunities. A brain drain of highly qualified talent poached by smarter countries leads to this apparent “lack of talent”. The fact that the few interesting positions are always snatched by untalented friends of the “status quo” further perpetuates this vicious cycle. Happy to see this discussed openly somewhere, just wanted to try and set the message straight!
By Hugo A. from Other on 01 Jun 2022, 12:22
All the time I hear from Portuguese as well as foreigners working here in person and on line, that they are not paid enough especially considering the high rents. Just met a guy who came here to fill a job offer and already he is looking to get to another country which pays enough to cover rent. I suspect there is no lack of qualified workers but the salaries are impossible and often they are not treated with respect. I think this article is totally invalid.
By Amanda Bosca from Porto on 01 Jun 2022, 14:03
My daughter has a MA in Law and the offers are few. What is on offer is a pittance of a salary. It’s the ridiculously low wages!! In Portugal My son has an MBA and had to go to Poland to find work he could support himself on. The problem is so obvious. Both my kids went to an expensive university - Católica. They all leave Portugal because employers are too cheap to offer living wages while they’re buying big expensive cars on company money. Vanity.
By Alan Weed from Porto on 01 Jun 2022, 15:05
Portugal has plenty of hard working intelligent talented workers, but Portugal needs to recognize that they need to pay their workers good wages or the workers will and do go to other countries where their talents are appreciated.
By Lisa from Other on 01 Jun 2022, 18:20
This article cuts to the heart of Portugal's issues unfortunately.
There is not a talent shortage as such, the human potential in Portugal is boundless.
I was born outside of Portugal and have lived and worked in 4 different countries: South Africa, England, The Netherlands & Portugal.
The young Portuguese talent is comparable in competence and work ethic to anywhere I've been.
There are several problems that make working here very difficult though.
Older, Portuguese management culture is too hierarchical and doesn't foster collaboration.
Luckily I work at a multinational company with a very flat hierarchy where workers are trusted to do their job and our voices are heard.
The big issue for me, is the low salaries compared to cost of living.
Many people lay this at the feet of business, which is sometimes a fair criticism, however I think the problem is fundamentally political and can be attributed to a very Socialist mentality.
High income and corporate taxes are stifling growth, and the pension/health system is fundamentally broken and unsustainable.
Unfortunately, more than 40% of Portuguese voters think that the government should redistribute wealth and don't have the slightest understanding of basic economics, and so they vote themselves (and the rest of us) into poverty and stagnation.
It's a shame, because the quality of life in Portugal is unbeatable.
I just wish we were better paid and were able to keep more of what we earn, as I'm sure I know how to manage my money a lot better than the PS can.
By Quentin Ferreira from Lisbon on 02 Jun 2022, 12:54
I agree with many of the comments. It's not the lack of education, knowledge or talent. There are many reasons, including the conservative views/hierarchy of older males in senior roles, lack of equality, very low wages and companies selecting the younger age group so they don't have to pay those with more experience.
I have over 27yrs experience, worked in 3 continents, 5 countries and having been looking desperately for a job for over 2yrs but am disregarded due to gender, age and ethnicity. - tell me I lack talent?!!
Portugal offers so much, but job opportunities is definitely not one!
By Anonymous from Porto on 03 Jun 2022, 13:03
Agreed with the others, I would also say it’s some kind of cycle we’re in. The economy is in shambles, salaries are low, the work culture is laidback/Mediterranean and a lot of time is waisted, people with higher standards move away (as I did), no new talent/young blood so the population continues to age and necome completely unsustainable. Portugal is one of the forst countries to feel the brunt of what Elon Musk has warned about— burth rate decline and aging population, you can’t have economic growth without population growth, so tge Portuguese have to accept this situation and enjoy the slow life.
By Tomas from Alentejo on 29 Aug 2022, 20:55