Security guards are leaving for other EU countries.
Croatia’s security companies have an increasing problem with the lack of licensed security guards, who are leaving the jobs that bring them just a few thousand kuna a month for better salaries in Ireland and Germany, reports liderpress.hr on April 30, 2016.
Since Croatia became a member of the EU, security guards started leaving the country looking for work across the Union, especially in richer countries. As opposed to Croatia, salaries in these countries are not so bad for that sector, and the proof is a new job ad published by Croatia’s Employment Service where Irish are offering to Croatian security guards who possess a certificate a monthly salary of 1.800 euros for 180 hours of work. Because the work hours usually add up to 220 a month, a solid amount of money can be earned. In Germany, they went a step further and offered 1,800 euros for 180 work hours per month and six months of paid accommodation and food. The situation is similar in the other Western European countries.
It is hard to say how many licensed security guards have left Croatia, but sources explain that this trend has intensified in the past year and assess that it could be about 200, but definitely more than 100. However, these numbers cannot be taken for granted and some of the leading Croatian security companies did not want to comment. The only company that responded to inquiries was Securitas, and they said that they did feel the effects of “the opening of the borders and the outflow of security guards to other European countries”.
“According to information we have at our disposal, about 30 people from our company have left to work abroad. We cannot say with certainty if the trend has intensified recently, but we do assess that the number is more or less the same as a year ago”, said Iva Lučić, director of marketing and communications at Securitas.
This situation is not favourable to the security protection profession, as they have been feeling the lack of licensed staff. Securitas said that they are currently able to cover usual assignments, but problems arise when they need to cover seasonal jobs.
