Low unemployment, fewer immediately available candidates and changing expectations are forcing employers to move from short-term recruitment to systematic workforce development.

Unemployment in Slovakia remains low. In March, the registered unemployment rate stood at 4.03%, while the number of job vacancies exceeded 123,000. For employers in manufacturing and logistics, this sends a clear signal: the labour market has not been moving in their favour for some time. Companies that want to fill roles reliably can no longer rely solely on job adverts and wait for ready-made candidates. They need to build their own system for attracting, developing and retaining people.

Low unemployment sounds positive. For companies, only partly.

At first glance, low unemployment is good news. It shows that people are working, the economy can absorb labour and the market remains active. For manufacturing and logistics companies, however, the same figure also reveals the other side of reality: there are fewer available candidates, and competition for them is significantly tougher than it was a few years ago.

This is not a short-term fluctuation. The shortage of qualified labour has become the new normal. Companies are not experiencing it for one season only, but over the long term. Especially in regions with strong manufacturing and logistics activity, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people who are ready to start immediately, have the necessary experience and are willing to change jobs.

Candidates now choose. And they look beyond wages.

Until recently, recruitment for production roles was often built around the assumption that net salary, bonuses and basic benefits were the decisive factors. Today, the situation is different. People compare job offers more comprehensively and are much more sensitive to the overall quality of working life.

Working hours, shift patterns, workplace accessibility, the type of production, physical demands, employer stability and the atmosphere on the shop floor all matter. The attitude of a direct supervisor also plays a major role. A candidate who has several options does not look only at how much they will earn. They also consider how the job will fit into their life.

For companies, this represents a fundamental shift. Recruitment is no longer only about offering a competitive salary. It is about presenting the job truthfully, clearly and attractively. And above all, it is about ensuring that the reality after onboarding matches what was promised during recruitment.

There are fewer ready-made candidates. And the best ones already have jobs.

The greatest challenge is not just the low number of jobseekers. The real issue is the shrinking pool of candidates who are immediately employable. Experienced operators, warehouse workers, technicians and people with practice in specific production processes are often already employed. They are not actively looking for work, but they may respond to significantly better conditions, a more suitable work regime or a fairer approach.

Traditional recruitment sources are therefore gradually losing their effectiveness. Job advertising generates fewer relevant responses. Internal databases are quickly exhausted. Candidates who used to respond to offers almost automatically now compare, wait or do not react at all.

The model of “post an advert and fill the role” is ceasing to work. Not because companies are doing recruitment badly, but because the market has changed.

A new approach: not just finding people, but building sources of workforce capacity

If companies want to cover manufacturing and logistics roles in the long term, they need to change their perspective. Instead of asking, “Where can we find ready-made candidates?”, they need to ask: “Which sources of workforce capacity can we systematically build?”

This is exactly what our new series will focus on. We will look at specific areas that can help companies reduce their dependence on an overheated labour market and create a more stable model for filling positions.

1. Internal development instead of waiting for ready-made people

One of the most important sources of workforce capacity can be found inside the company itself. Employers that know how to move people forward, train them and develop their potential gain greater stability than those that rely exclusively on the external labour market.

In practice, this means working with potential, not only with existing experience. Developing operators, team leaders, technical staff or people for specialised workstations may require more effort at the beginning, but in the long term it is a strategic investment.

2. Reskilling juniors and people from other sectors

Another path is the systematic reskilling of candidates who may not have direct experience with a particular type of production or logistics, but have the right potential to succeed. These may include juniors, graduates or people coming from retail, services, gastronomy or other sectors that have undergone change.

The key is to set expectations correctly and provide strong training and support during the first weeks. Not every candidate without experience is a risk. The real risk is a recruitment system that cannot distinguish potential from chance.

3. Groups that the labour market has long overlooked

There are groups of people in the labour market who are willing to work but often face inflexible job design. Parents with young children, single parents, people aged 50+ or candidates with health limitations can become an important source of stability for companies.

However, this is not about one-off campaigns. If these groups are to genuinely enter manufacturing or logistics, companies need to think about working hours, accessibility, ergonomics, onboarding and communication. Wherever a job can be adapted without compromising performance, there is potential that many employers still fail to use.

4. International workforce as part of a long-term strategy

For some types of operations, the domestic labour market is simply too narrow. International recruitment is therefore not just an emergency solution, but an important part of long-term workforce strategy.

The decisive factor is not only the ability to bring people in. It is equally important to manage legislation, visa processes, administration, accommodation, adaptation, communication and ongoing care. International recruitment works when it is part of a system, not when it is used as a last resort in a crisis.

Companies that only react will always be one step behind

Slovakia’s labour market will not change in favour of employers by itself. Demographics, limited candidate availability, regional differences and rising expectations will continue to put pressure on companies.

The winners will not be those who publish a job offer the fastest. The winners will be companies that build their own system for attracting and developing people. A system that combines internal growth, reskilling, openness to broader candidate groups and well-managed international recruitment.

Because if we want to cover manufacturing and logistics in the long term, searching alone is not enough. We need to change the way we approach people.