The Croatian Employment Service has published recommendations for enrollment in secondary schools and universities, based on which professions are lacking in Croatia and which there are too many of.

Some students today are being educated for professions in which there is already a surplus of candidates, while employers at the same time struggle to find people for the jobs they actually need. The number of shortage occupations is constantly growing, writes Dnevnik Nove TV.

Where is the shortage and why is this problem spreading?

According to the recommendations, among the occupations that are becoming increasingly difficult to fill, construction trades and hospitality particularly stand out, and the broader list of shortage occupations also includes butchers and a range of vocational professions such as bricklayers, roofers, carpenters, and locksmiths, as well as bakers and pastry chefs. The need for a greater number of doctors, nurses and technicians, speech therapists, mechanical engineering engineers, and experts from STEM fields is also mentioned. It is important to understand the term shortage occupation very simply: it is a job for which there are more open needs than young people who want or are able to do it.

Where is there a surplus and what does that mean for those enrolling?

On the other hand, HZZ warns Dnevnik Nove TV that there are currently too many professionals on the market in some popular fields, for example among business economists, marketing experts, sociologists, and designers. This does not mean that it is impossible to find a job, but it does mean that competition will be greater and the path to first employment often longer, especially without experience. There is also a regional difference in occupations such as hairdressers and beauticians; in some places there are more than needed, while elsewhere they are lacking, which in practice means that the same job can have completely different prospects depending on the city and demand.

The recommendations are not a ban, but they are a clear signal

HZZ emphasizes that these are recommendations, not a rule, because enrollment quotas also depend on school capacities, equipment, and the possibility of organizing classes. Still, the message is quite clear: when choosing an educational path, it is worth looking not only at what is interesting but also where there are real job opportunities, and in which part of the country.

The problem will not solve itself, because the gap between employers’ needs and what the education system produces is clearly widening, and in the end both companies that cannot operate at full capacity and young people entering the market with excess competition pay the price.