In Nicaragua there is an oversupply of young professionals who have postgraduate studies, but who lack the work experience that the companies require.
Generally companies demand professionals with masters degrees when they need to occupy high-level positions, where work experience and goals achieved in previous positions are the main differentiating factor.One of the problems that stands out in Nicaragua is the presence of a lot of young professionals with masters degrees, but who lack experience that is specifically demanded the contracting companies.
The emigration of six out of seven Salvadorans who have studied for 12 years or more is removing a vital resource for economic performance, preventing improvements to labor productivity in the country.
Up until 2000, 85% of high school and college graduates with twelve or more years of education had migrated, reveals the study 'Measuring the international mobility of skilled workers'.
Projections are that for the five year period between 2015-2020 there will be a shortfall of 70,000 workers in the sectors of construction, logistics, tourism and agriculture.
According to the National Competitiveness Center, in the specified period there will be a shortage of workers especially in the logistics sector, where they will need at least 35,000 technicians, ie 49.5%, while in the construction area demand will be for around 28,000 people, representing 40.3%. In the case of the tourism sector it is estimated that it will require approximately 4,113 technicians, ie 5.7% and in agriculture about 3,203, the remaining 4.5%.
There is an insufficient number of professionals in this health area to meet growing demand, both in public and in private sectors.
The Ministry of Health currently has 494 nutritionists, however it needs 500 more to meet demand in public health facilities and provide adequate care to the population.
Yeny Carrasco, nutritionist and dietitian at the Promotional Health Department, told Panamaamerica.com.pa that "...
The country's labor problems could be solved by developing an immigration policy that allows skilled foreign workers to work and also train panamanians.
In his opinion piece Rene Quevedo notes the difficulties facing the Panamanian labor market due to a lack of national technical professionals and because of a preference for adult workers over young people with little experience and training.
There has been a rise in the number of firms reporting difficulties in recruiting qualified staff, especially technicians, engineers and sales managers.
In one year the number of companies who said they found it difficult to fill vacancies grew by 11%, according to figures from a survey carried out by the human resources firm Manpower, which states that "...
A professional degree used to be a guarantee of social mobility and prestige, but the current labour market pays little for some of them.
The labor market can be compared to the commercial market. Salaries are defined by the evolution of supply and demand. When supply is greater than demand, salaries are lowered and when demand is greater than supply, wages rise.
Engineers in different specialties, sales representatives and administrative assistants, who are all fluent in English, are those most in demand.
The Talent Shortage Survey, conducted by ManpowerGroup Costa Rica among 620 employers, found that in the case of university courses "engineering (with their different emphases) is the only one that stands out in the list of jobs in demand this year ... ", reported Nacion.com.
A bill proposes to simplify the process for hiring foreign professionals and technicians in Panamanian public health institutions.
From a press release issued by the Government of Panama:
The Cabinet has approved a bill which streamlines the process for hiring professionals and foreign health technicians in the Social Security Department (CSS) and the Ministry of Health.
In Costa Rica there are currently more than 400 people employed in this sector, with a reported unmet demand for another 3000.
The study "Skills in networking and connectivity in Latin America", conducted by IDC for the company Cisco, reveals that there is currently a 43% gap between demand and actual supply of these professionals, which by 2015 could rise to 47 %.
Facing a lack of specialized technicians, representatives from private companies are motivating students to train in technical careers and foster the development of new specialties.
Given the need for technical personnel in the province of Alajuela, businesses from the free zone area El Coyol, held a meeting with senior students encouraging them to train in the technical specialties necessary for the productive sector.
A deficit of veterinary doctors, estimated at about six hundred professionals, is jeopardizing food security.
The acting secretary of the Panamanian Association of Veterinarians, Jose Torres, referring to the lack of professionals said that there are areas such as quarantine at airports and ports where there are only enough existing staff to cover one shift and not the three that are needed.
There are plenty of applicants for the posts, but there are few who are really qualified to meet the demands of each job.
A study entitled 'Lack of Talent 2011' by the firm Manpower Group shows that 30% of companies in Costa Rica say they have trouble finding certain types of staff such as technicians, salesmen and secretaries with the required skills.
The growing trend of change in economies led by the conservation of the environment is creating a demand for a workforce with new skills.
The employment potential arising from the transition to a greener economy cannot be exploited unless new skills related to green jobs are developed, says a study by the ILO covering 21 countries, which together represent about 60 percent of the world population.
Training of qualified personnel at all levels is absolutely insufficient to meet the demand of an economy with such high growth rates.
In Panama, the gap between demand and supply of employment, both in quantity and quality, is expanding at the same pace as the growing list of infrastructure projects in execution, which is increasing the arrival of multinational companies, saturating hotels with the number of business travelers and tourists.