More than 1.17 million foreigners work in Poland. The largest group of them are Ukrainians, but there is a clear increase among citizens of countries such as Nepal, the Philippines and Colombia. According to the report of Gi Group, they increased by 46, 60 and 337 percent respectively in a year.
As the authors of the report noted, in the first half of 2024, the number of work permits for Filipinos increased by 60%, for citizens of Nepal by 46%, and for citizens of Colombia by 337%. (relative to the first half of 2023). However, according to the data of ZUS, in September of the current year, the largest group of working foreigners were citizens of Ukraine, their number is 779,000 people. Their number, as shown in the report, indicates a slight decrease in the percentage of foreign nationals in general, which decreased by 7.8 percentage points from 2018.
Foreigners working in Poland
The number of workers from Nepal, Colombia, the Philippines and India is increasing. “In the first half of 2024 alone, more than 173,000 work permits were issued, most of which went to foreigners from Asian and South American countries,” Gi Group said. According to the report, more than 1.17 million citizens of other countries work in Poland. According to the authors of the report, attracting foreign citizens is “an increasingly popular solution in the context of the demographic winter, the aging of the population and the lack of personnel.”
Filling the deficit and reducing costs
More than half of the surveyed entrepreneurs (55.5%) consider hiring foreigners as a way to fill the lack of personnel, and 30%. opportunity to reduce costs. In turn, 26% see new perspectives and creative approaches in foreign workers, and the same percentage (23%) sees improvement in work efficiency. The study also shows that 75 percent of companies with international teams employ Ukrainian citizens, 38 percent are citizens of the European Union, 25 percent are workers from other countries of the Eastern bloc, and 18.5 percent are from Asia, Africa, and South America. Gi Group also noted that EU citizens are more likely to work in larger companies, especially in the service sector, the public sector and transport and logistics. On the other hand, Ukrainians work “regardless of the size of the company, the sector or the area of activity of the employers”. Foreigners from remote areas of the world usually work in large companies. According to the company, this could be due to a “more complex recruitment process”. The representatives of the enterprises also declare that they do not consider an increase in the number of foreigners (30%) or have not yet decided (35%). 38% of people intend to increase jobs for foreigners. companies that plan to hire 14.5% of people from the EU, 13.5% from Ukraine, and 5% each from the countries of the Eastern bloc and, for example, Africa and Asia.
Foreigners also pose problems
Respondents also noted the challenges associated with providing employment to such individuals. First of all, the complexity of formalities and procedures (35%), problems in the interpretation of regulations (24.5%) and the length of waiting for licenses (24%). However, among the problems related to the employment of foreign nationals, the most respondents noted language barriers and communication problems (41%). They also mentioned different work standards and approaches to tasks (23.5%) and integration problems with Polish employees (17.5%). Marcos Segador Arrebola, director of Gi Group Holding in Poland, was quoted in the report as saying that “hiring foreigners, especially from culturally distant countries, raises some concerns.” – Poland, which has been a culturally and religiously homogeneous country for years, today is facing difficulties in adapting to the changing social structure, – he said. According to him, the discussion on this topic is important so that “in the end, all parties benefit”. The report “Employment of foreigners in Poland. Challenges and opportunities” was prepared by Gi Group, and the information contained in it is provided by SW Research using the CAVI method from November 8 to November 13 of this year. about a group of 200 representatives of medium and large companies. Gi Group Poland SA is a company that provides personnel services in the field of consulting, permanent and temporary employment and outsourcing.
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