How Croatia can bring back its construction workers from abroad

Why Croatian builders left – and what must change to bring them home (Photo: Promo) Croatia’s construction sector continues to face a major labour shortage, but solving the problem requires more than simply raising wages. According to Croatian construction engineer Saša Perko, the roots of the issue stretch back more than a decade and require structural changes across the entire sector. Crisis years drove workers abroad The origins of today’s shortage can be traced to the period between 2009 and 2015, when the global financial crisis hit Croatia’s construction industry hard. Many companies collapsed, projects stalled and thousands of skilled workers lost their jobs. At the time, the sector was firmly a “buyer’s market” for employers, with far more workers than available positions. The prevailing attitude of “if you won’t do it, someone else will” damaged the long-term perception of construction as a stable profession. When labour markets in Western Europe opened further after Croatia joined the EU, many skilled Croatian workers left for countries such as Germany and Austria in search of better and more predictable conditions. In the years since, Croatia has not produced enough new workers to replace those who departed. Wage gap still exists – but is narrowing One of the key questions is whether Croatia can realistically compete with Western European salaries. Perko explains that qualified construction workers such as carpenters typically earn around €22–€25 per hour in Ger...