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'.
"... Some of the professions reserved for national citizens are chemical engineering and petrochemicals, careers which are not offered by any university in Panama. "
EDITORIAL
Acting as a backdrop to the contradiction between migrant's human right to work and the need to reserve jobs for nationals, is the upkeep of competitiveness and economic development of each country.
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 "...
In the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica a bill is being discussed which would impose compulsory licensing for IT and computing professionals.
Editorial
The bill that seeks reform of Law No. 7,537, Organic Law of the Association of Professionals in Information Technology and Computing has been ruled on positively in the Commission which is studying it.
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 "...
In Costa Rica two bills are proposing mandatory enrollment in professional colleges for anyone performing any computing task.
In his article in Elfinancierocr.com, Juan Carlos Hidalgo highlights the nonsense that these bills represent, one of which even attempts to penalize "with imprisonment of three months to two years, anyone who pursues a profession for which special training is required without having obtained the corresponding authorization. "
The economic growth which will be generated by the canal expansion will increase the demand for skilled workers in the logistics industry.
Foreign trade, port planning and management, border management and maritime transport are some of the sectors that require skilled labor in the coming years in Panama.
Prensa.com reports that "Approximately 5000 experts will be required for the logistics sector over the next five years confirmed the president of the Logistics Business Council (Coel), Daniel Isaza".
The speed with which the Panamanian economy is developing is demanding skilled labour which, at the moment, the country is unable to supply.
The lack of qualified people in the areas of technology, software development and telecommunications is one of the challenges facing Panama as a consequence of its economic growth.
An article in Revistaitnow.com explains that "the IT sector in Panama consists mainly of the segments of software development, telecommunications, specialized services such as call centers and data centers which rely on the competitive advantages that the country has, but that does not mean that it can develop them alone. "
A bill could change the rules of the profession of certified public accountants and external auditing services in the country.
Movimiento de Contadores Públicos Independientes (The Independent Accountants Movement) has called for the creation of a commission to discuss the bill which they say could harm practice of the profession.
The bill "seeks to repeal Act 57 of September 1, 1978 and with that change the rules of the profession of certified public accountants (CPA) and external auditing services in the country", reported Prensa.com.
From the first half of next year, all professional people will have to use the mechanism that has the same validity as paper documents.
This was announced by Carlos Vargas, CEO of Taxation. The goal "... is to have a tool to verify professional people's income, which is important for determining income tax (which is applied on the difference between income and expenses)", reported Nacion.com.
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.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in El Salvador has pointed out the need to adapt training courses to the needs of the business sector.
According a report entitled "Second Diagnosis University-Business Links" carried out by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in El Salvador (CCIES by its initials in Spanish) "universities can collaborate with companies by conducting practical research, internships, work experience and student social services, while enterprises can contribute to improve the supply of university by getting involved in the creation and updating of curricula", reported Elsalvador.com.
The evaluation program for the system will involve 100 professionals who will start using electronic invoices.
Starting today, the Directorate General of Taxation is launching its pilot scheme for digital invoices which aims to increase the control of data, improving tax collection and reducing the use of paper.
According to Carlos Vargas, chief of the Directorate General of Taxation (DGT), "we are presenting the application for free.