While efforts are being made to the train people locally, foreigners continue to come into the country to meet the demand of international companies based there.
Eric Quesada, Regional Director for Manpower, said: "Today there are significant challenges for companies to find staff, specially skilled staff. The foreign population is constantly increasing, as people come to fill the positions that are not being covered locally. "
An survey on Employment Outlook by Manpower placed the Net Employment Outlook at +24%. It found out that 31% of the 628 Panamanian companies surveyed plan to increase their work force next year, 7% will decrease it, 61% said there would be no change and the remaining 1% did not know. The trend of increased hiring is concentrated is in Panama City and Colon province with 29% and 28% respectively.
An article in Panamaamerica.com states that "trade, construction, telecommunications and transport will be the sectors with the most demand for labor resources in the first quarter of 2012."
Source: Panamaamerica.com.pa
More on this topic
May 2008
Costa Rica faces a shortage of manpower with skills in engineering, management and the English language.
Emmanuel Hess, director general of the export promotion agency, Procomer, said the education system is failing to meet the needs of the economy.
More statistics are required, he added.
November 2010
There isn´t adequate availability of skilled labor to build, manage and administrate the ambitious projects of the state's infrastructure plan.
The construction of the first Metro line involves 3,000 jobs, the redevelopment of the Canal another 6,000 and other infrastructure projects raise the total to 34,000 direct jobs which will be created by 2011.
January 2010
Consortium "Grupo Unidos por el Canal" will begin building the locks at the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal on January.
The consortium will start at the end of January in order to take advantage of the dry season.
"Personnel will be hired gradually... when the construction peaks, in mid-2011, there will be between 5.000 and 5.500 people working", reported Prensa.com.
October 2009
Workers are relocating to sugar and coffee plantations, as there are less jobs in other sectors, due to loss of harvests and a reduction in reserves of basic grain.
Other reasons mentioned are a slowdown in the construction industry and the closure of several textile factories, where 11.000 jobs were lost.
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