FIHR's Ile: - Only 2.5% of Romanian students and pupils work compared to European average of 18%

Only 2.5% of the total number of Romanian students and pupils work during their studies, while the European average of pupils and students who have a job during their studies is 18%, the president of the Federation of the Hotel Industry in Romania (FIHR), Calin Ile, said on Tuesday in the context of the crisis of employees that affects the HoReCa industry.

"I met some young pupils who want to organize a conference on hospitality and we want to support them. And this can be an answer [to the labour crisis in HoReCa], because in Romania only 2.5% of students and pupils work, while the European average is around 18%, not to mention a country like the Netherlands, which is close to 50% of students and pupils who, during their studies, have a job," said Calin Ile during the National Conference of the Hospitality Industry.

The FIHR leader mentioned that HoReCa entrepreneurs must support the import of workforce from abroad.

"It is clear that for every operator the problem of workforce is today the most serious problem they face after a year and a half of trying to keep people (...). We must fight to support the import of labor, for that it is a mix of solutions, which, put together, could alleviate us and not cure this great problem we face ", Calin Ile said during the event organized by the Employers' Organization of Hotels and Restaurants in Romania (HORA).

The President of the Romanian Hotel Industry Federation appreciated that the only scenario through which HoReCa employers can increase salaries in the field would be a program of fiscal facilities for the field.

"We believe that without some form of tax relief on this industry for a period of time, it will be almost impossible to become more attractive,"uio added Calin Ile. AGERPRES