Nearly 60% of companies require specialists in areas that are not taught in the country.

Santo Domingo, DR
Some 54% of the Dominican Republic companies have had difficulty recruiting personnel because they have not found appropriate skills and preparation profiles.

This is a reality reflected in the report “Training of human talent to meet the current and future demand of the Dominican Republic: Focus on professional technical and university programs” by the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE), which states that 57% of the 621 entities analyzed throughout the national territory need professionals trained in areas that are not currently taught in the country’s educational centers.

Consequently, several institutions, equivalent to 36%, have opted, on occasion, to fill vacancies with foreign personnel.

Among the areas with the lowest number of graduates and the highest demand by companies are the tourism sector: experts in gastronomy and food and beverage specialists; and in commerce, the requirement for personnel trained in graphic design was emphasized.

Meanwhile, for the free trade zones, the difficulty is hiring operators such as forklifts, machinery production, and quality and safety management, among others; in the particular case of the medical devices subsector, the greatest need is in the areas of biotechnology and biomedicine.

Finally, the export sector presents complications in recruiting personnel to fill vacancies in business intelligence, agribusiness, trade, and international logistics.

Costs

The mismatch between training and the skill requirements of employers is reflected as costs for the companies that must then train their personnel.

In that sense, 53% of the surveyed entities considered that not having an adequately trained workforce produces a need for needer direct supervision of employees.

Likewise, 44% indicated that the lack of personnel preparation results in lower production for their organization and generates higher personnel turnover, and 37% expressed that it has meant higher training expenses to remedy the situation.