Keve chief warns local workforce can’t meet business needs

Cypriot businesses are struggling to fill vacancies across sectors due to a growing labour shortage, according to Philokypros Rousounides, secretary general of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve).

Speaking on Sigma TV’s ‘Mesimeri kai Kati’, Rousounides warned that the domestic labour market can no longer meet current needs, despite the country operating under near full employment and with unemployment holding below five per cent.

Additionally, he said that both skilled and unskilled positions are proving increasingly difficult to fill, forcing employers to seek workers from abroad.

The Keve chief explained that there are “no compatriots available to work, which means that businesses have no alternative but to import people and human resources in order to continue operating, expand, and create new jobs”.

He stressed that, even if this comes at a higher cost for employers, “foreign recruitment is now the only available source from which labour can be directly drawn”.

Rousounides said that this situation has turned the employment of third-country nationals into “a one-way solution for the private sector“, one that is increasingly seen as essential for sustaining business growth.

Rousounides also expressed his satisfaction with the way the Labour Ministry has handled the matter in recent months.

Furthermore, he said that procedures for granting work permits to third-country nationals have been significantly accelerated compared to the past.

While it previously took seven to ten months to bring in staff, he said, the process is now far less time-consuming.  

He attributed this improvement to “the efforts of the ministry and the personal involvement of the inister himself”.

Alongside the drive to attract foreign labour, he made reference to the government’s brain gain strategy, which aims to encourage the return of Cypriot professionals who have lived and worked abroad for more than seven years.

He described the programme as attractive, citing the tax incentives it includes.

According to Rousounides, “the chamber is already receiving interest from individuals seeking more information on the programme.”