Experts warn: Without foreigners, healthcare will collapse!
Austria is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified labor, especially in the health and care sectors. During a seminar organized by the Industriellenvereinigung (Industrialists' Association), Julian Hachiev, the CEO of Humanocare, a healthcare company, stated that the country urgently needs to recruit workers from non-EU countries, known as "third countries."
Hachiev clarified that his company has recruited 350 qualified nurses from Colombia, as they were unable to find jobs in their home country, describing the experience as "mutually beneficial." However, he warned that complex bureaucracy hinders the expansion of this experience, stating, "If we do not remove the obstacles, they will turn to other countries and we will be left without solutions." For her part, Petra Draxl, head of the AMS (Labor Market Office), focused on a more sensitive issue. She stated that Austria suffers from a clear racial problem within the labor market, especially in rural areas, where the idea of foreign workers is not easily accepted.
Drexel added that large companies have become accustomed to workforce diversity, but the challenge lies with some employees themselves who display racist attitudes towards colleagues from different backgrounds. She asked, "Who would want to work in a place where they are insulted because of their origins?"
She emphasized that the issue is not related to a specific nationality, but rather to who is a minority in the workplace, noting that this exposes a person to discrimination regardless of their country of origin.
She warned that areas like Kärnten are facing "severe delays" in accepting foreigners, stating clearly: "People there need to accept the reality of people coming from abroad, otherwise the region will face serious demographic problems."