President Milanović at Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts Day Ceremony: Inflation and labour shortage are main challenges for tradespeople
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended today a formal session held on the occasion of Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts Day. He told the gathering that together with the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts we faced a number of challenges during 28 years. In this context he underlined the lack of workers, vocational education and plus this year – inflation.
President Milanović stated that the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts has a positive role in Croatian society; it is indispensable because it presents an example of how interest groups in Croatia should operate. Furthermore, he said that one of the key reasons for our weaker economic results in the past thirty years is that politics is present in every sphere of life.
“Changes are the key term describing our past 30 years. Some of these changes hadn’t been planned. They weren’t even welcome. Some were by accident, some were a result of global economic trends and circumstances not inclined to us. But most of the changes are a result of our decisions and domestic public policies. We expect them even now”, President Milanović stated, calling upon those who will make the decisions to avoid reflexive interventionism and to take energy transition into account. “I’m referring to policies on fuel prices in Croatia. I’m thinking of energy transition and the cost of electric energy as the most important energy source in trades and in the entire business community. It is the energy source that is the future of energy transition. Despite the present moment, petroleum products are not”, he added.
President Milanović said that in the present circumstances tradespeople and craftspeople, small and medium enterprises are exposed to the greatest risk stressing that it’s not fair to expect tradespeople to bear the brunt of the price increases of energy sources and the forthcoming energy and technological (digital) transition, which isn’t the case in other EU countries. “As long as energy and digital transition is a precondition for the survival of trades and crafts, small and medium enterprises in a competitive environment, the duty of the state is to take an active role. In that process a delaying strategy cannot be an optimum choice as was the case in the past”, he added.
Noting that economic growth and employment growth is unimaginable without tradespeople, small and medium enterprises, President Milanović said that the business demography of craftsmanship in the past 10 years confirms their resilience to challenges. “In order to keep the positive trends, it is necessary to pay attention to the shortage of labour and vocational education in addition to inflation. All of this has to be coordinated with the goal of implementing the Croatian economy’s energy and digital transition”, President Milanović remarked. He added that in the process he sees room for a smart immigration policy that would help fill the deficit occupations, accelerate the reconstruction of Zagreb and Banija and contribute to the integration of new residents of the Republic of Croatia into Croatian society with the due attention and an active role of all levels of government.
Referring to the stigmatization of vocational education in Croatia, President Milanović said that a quality and well-paid job isn’t everything, but is a precondition for the quality of life of all of us. “What remains to be done is to jointly and constructively adopt public policies aimed at developing a system that would support solutions for all three problems. Everything else is a poor economy. Everything else won’t make Croatia a home for all of its people. They will continue to vote with their feet, and we will have the same problems, but with fewer good people ready to deal with them”, he said.
President Milanović noted that the development of diversified, sustainable, competitive innovative and green economies cannot succeed without tradespeople and craftspeople, and he finished by telling them to absorb money from European funds. “Our responsibility for every euro from European funds in the Croatian economy and society is huge, and our goal and focus must be to achieve 100 percent. In every job, effort, national enthusiasm, energy, it is essential to clearly define things, and then motivate people to know where they’re going. Our aspiration, our effort just begins to produce results and that’s why European funds are both ours and yours. It’s not money taken from Croatia that gave it in a negotiated arrangement and now is taking it back. Nearly ten years have passed and only can now we talk about a surplus, and you tradespeople and craftspeople very well know what that means”, President Milanović said in concluding his address.
On the occasion of Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts Day the most successful tradespeople and craftspeople were presented with the highest recognitions of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts – the “Golden Hands” statue and new master craftsmen were promoted. Also speaking at the ceremony in addition to President Milanović were the president of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts Dragutin Ranogajec, and the Minister of the Economy and Sustainable Development and envoy of the Prime Minister Davor Filipović. Alongside President Milanović was the Special Adviser to the President for the Economy Velibor Mačkić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić