Approximately two-thirds of countries around the world are struggling with a significant labor shortage. For example, in America, there are nearly 5 million job vacancies that cannot be filled because of a lack of personnel.
In Aruba, the situation is also severe. Many companies are faced with a shortage of employees, and there are many more job vacancies than individuals who can fill the positions. The shortage is caused by various factors, including the aging of our population, expansion of the hotel room count, labor market regulations, and a mismatch of skills.
To gain a better understanding of the labor shortage, the types of jobs being offered, and which economic sectors are particularly affected, the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) surveyed our commercial sector.
Three-quarters of the companies that participated in the survey indicated that they had difficulty finding qualified personnel to fill job vacancies. Most of the companies are looking to fill between 2 and 5 positions, and 20 percent are seeking to fill more than 10 positions. There is currently a shortage of employees in every economic sector. Two-thirds of the companies qualify the intensity of the shortage as “severe,” while 22.5% qualify it as “moderate.”
More than half of the companies believe that the labor shortage will worsen in the next 1 to 2 years, and only 8 percent think the situation will improve. Companies are seeking a wide range of workers, such as cleaners, room attendants, maintenance personnel, cooks, accountants, HR managers, engineers, architects, machine operators, etc.
With the projection of constructing more than 3000 hotel rooms and over 1000 condos and apartments in the next 4 years, it is expected that the labor shortage will significantly increase. This will put pressure not only on the hotel sector but also on sectors such as restaurants, water sports companies, transportation companies, maintenance, and security. By 2025, it is expected that over 4600 additional workers will be needed. For the long term, it is anticipated that around 12,000 additional workers will be required.
Companies have suggested some points to mitigate the problems, such as optimizing the permit process, investing in education and training, halting hotel construction, changing labor laws, increasing the minimum wage, promoting local talent, legalizing undocumented individuals, and implementing fiscal controls.
The Chamber of Commerce appreciates everyone who participated in the survey and will use the collected data to deliberate with the government on different ways to mitigate the labor shortage.
