The most deficient occupational groups in Poland include truck drivers, nurses and midwives, as well as psychologists and psychotherapists, according to the Occupations Barometer 2023. The demand for employees in selected occupations has been forecast for several years by the Regional Labour Office in Kraków.

Although the number of professions in short supply across Poland has decreased to 27 from 30 year-on-year, severe shortages in some specialisations will make it difficult for companies to operate, according to the Rzeczpospolita daily.

The shortage of lorry drivers for the logistics, courier industry and the tourism sector, will affect employers in almost 96 per cent of districts this year. In almost one in four, the shortage is estimated to be high. There is also a shortage of nurses and midwives practically nationwide (in almost nine out of 10 poviats), with 84 poviats assessing the shortage of candidates for this hard and not well-paid work as very high.

The pandemic has also exacerbated the shortage of doctors, which is in short supply in 321 poviats, and brought psychologists and psychotherapists into the group of professions experiencing severe staff shortages last year. The deterioration of the psychological condition of Poles, exacerbated in the past year by the war in Ukraine and the inflationary crisis, is increasing the need for these professionals, who are in short supply in 329 poviats, year on year.

On the national list of 27 shortage occupations this year are three groups of teachers. In addition to teachers of vocational subjects, who have been in short supply for years (their shortage affects schools in two-thirds of poviats), this year’s Barometer also includes teachers of general subjects (in short supply in 215 poviats) and teachers at special schools and integration classes.

The forecast of demand for employees in selected professions shows that 2023 will be the second year in a row without a surplus profession nationwide.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński