Due to the precariousness of the English language, in recent years’ companies in the Contact Center & BPO sector have decided to close thousands of jobs in the region and relocate their investments to other markets where they have no difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel.
Reports at a global level show that the command of English is one of the weaknesses at a Central American level.
Faced with the sudden change that the new normal generated in companies, employees are challenged to increase their skills to work remotely, adapt to more flexible contracts and refine their technological skills and cognitive qualities.
Telecommuting has become an everyday occurrence among companies in the region, which have had to adjust to the restrictions imposed by governments due to the outbreak of covid-19.
In Costa Rica civil servants earn on average 150% more than workers in the private sector, which contributes decisively to the growth of inequality and lowers the overall competitiveness of human resources.
Differences have been reported of up to one thousand percent in the salaries of staff performing identical functions in state universities.
Editorial
A study by the deputy Otto Guevara, according to a report by Crhoy.com, confirms the distortion generated by the wage policy of the Costa Rican public sector in the labor market in the country.
Through remuneration systems that favor the stability of the employee and reward the simple continuity in a post beyond the adequacy with which tasks are executed, it is possible that even within the same institution one driver of a light vehicle can receive $300 a month, while another one earns $3,750.
The Government has issued an Executive Order which details the services that will be defined and the procedure to be followed to ensure the continuity of their delivery of services to the population.
After the lifting of the veto of the Act amending the Labour Procedure Code, which enabled strikes in essential services, president Solis has issued a decree which will be in force until the aforementioned Reform Act comes into force in mid-2016.
Despite widespread opposition from all productive sectors in the country, President Solis has lifted the ban on reforms to the law on labor procedures imposed by the previous administration.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
Lifting of veto outrages and concerns business sector
Unions reject a proposal by industrialists to work 4 days and rest 3 days, whle the government describes it as a "sensitive" issue.
The Minister of Labour, Victor Morales, told Crhoy.com that "....These proposals concerning working hours require legislative amendment, they need a reform of the Labour Code to be approved in the Legislature ... I proposed to the Chamber of Industries ...
Industrialists are asking for inclusion in the Labour Code a 12 hour work day, and in cases in where the law permits, annualized hours.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Industries (ICRC):
July 2014. In the view of the ICRC establishing additional rules for working time in Costa Rican legislation represents an excellent option for generating higher quality employment opportunities, while at the same time allowing firms to improve their production levels.
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 "...
The education of children and young people must be the appropriate in order to fit into a labor market that gets more competitive dayby day or to start their own businesses.
From a statement by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP):
CONTINUING MODERNIZATION OF EDUCATION IS TASK FOR EVERYONE
In a few days thousands of children and young people will enter classrooms to prepare to be the future of our country.
The large infrastructure projects that have been announced will need to import human resources according to the demand created by such works.
The new container terminal in Moin, the extension of Route 32 and the new refinery are the new projects that are coming to the province. Regarding these, Wilberth Mata, director of the headquarters of the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (RERI) said that "in Limon there is not enough qualified people to meet the labor demand as it arises over the next few years."
The net rate of national labor participation remained at 62.7% of the working age population, the same as it was in the second quarter of 2012.
From a press release issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC):
The Costa Rican labor market shows stability between the second quarter of 2012 and the same period in 2013, when the net rate of national labor participation remained at 62.7% of the working age population.
Most employers in Costa Rica say the first thing they evaluate when choosing job candidates is experience.
56% of Costa Rican businessmen believe that experience is the most important when hiring new staff.
This was revealed by the Third Quarterly Survey on Business "Business Pulse" by the Union of Chambers of Private Enterprises (Uccaep), in which 492 entrepreneurs took part.
Although in recent months the increase sharpened, in Costa Rica the number of self employed people has been growing since 2008.
In Costa Rica last June the number of independent workers stood at 367,187, while in June 2012 it was 344 830, this is an increase of 22,357.
The figures were provided by the Macroeconomic Situation Observatory of the National University of Costa Rica (UNA), in conjunction with data from the Social Security Fund (CCSS).