Romania’s auto industry is facing a specialized personnel crisis, due to the great dynamic of the market, far exceeding the capacity of training institutions, the entry onto the market of new international companies, the migration of the work force, and recruiting deficiencies in the past few years, when dealers concentrated their financial resources mostly on developing their sales networks, according to representatives of car importers.

“Much like the economy, the Romanian labor market is subject to a transformation in terms of infrastructure elements ensured and developed by state institutions, as well as players on this market, employers and employees. Since Romania acceeded to the European Union and free circulation of the labor force went into effect we have seen concomitent access onto the market of several major international players and a drop in the number of specialists in all areas,” according to a statement by Business Standard by Cristian Riga, Country Manager for Mazda Central and South Europe (Mazda CSEE), general importer of the Mazda brand.

Dealers also attribute the personnel crisis to a drop in the capacity of educational institutions to train various types of specialists, including automotive high schools, professional schools and technical universities. The deficit in personnel is greater in Bucharest, and is especially acute in terms of highly specialized positions, such a automobile mechanics, but also less specialized sales agents. The dealers are expecting this crisis to worsen in the coming years, especially for small and medium-sized companies, due to the migration trend to powerful companies, who can offer larger salaries and supplementary bonuses. This will no doubt lead to a rise in salaries even for less qualified personnel.