ĐĐ Montaža Izolak is sponsoring students and hiring them immediately after graduation, but the needs, says director Krešimir Tomičić, are much greater, and the reform is ten years late.

(we are reprinting the article in full from Ebro portal, here You can also read it in the original)

„Strengthening the Competitiveness of Đuro Đaković Montaža Izolak (ĐĐMI) through the Implementation of the Project for Investment in the Expansion and Renovation of Production Capacities and Employee Training“ is the name of the project they are currently implementing.

SLAVONSKI BROD - ĐĐ Montaža Izolak is a Brod-based company that exclusively deals with industrial insulation, soundproofing and thermal insulation, anti-corrosion and fire protection, masonry, and facade cladding. They undertake projects throughout Croatia, Europe, and beyond. A significant reference was a project in South Africa where they supervised the construction of facilities for world-renowned companies Mitsubishi and Hitachi, overseeing over 1100 insulation workers and demonstrating the quality of their workforce and their professional approach to the job. They operate predominantly in the foreign market and have a need for workers.

Last year, in cooperation with the Đuro Đaković Montaža Izolak Trade and Industry School, a project was launched to start a new educational program for the profession of industrial sheet metal worker. This is a profession for which students do not train anywhere else in Croatia, and the market demand is high, just as it is for, for example, welders.

The program was approved by the Ministry of Education and a campaign was launched in elementary schools to awaken the interest of parents and children in professions that are in demand on the labor market. The program, which includes three years of schooling, scholarships, summer internships, and a secure job after graduation, was presented at the crafts and vocational school fair. "Perhaps we started a bit late last year, so the result of all our efforts was that four children enrolled in the specialization we need. Regardless, these children are currently doing their summer internships with us; they are in their second year and will start their internships with us right at the beginning of the school year. They will be doing them in a workshop built as part of an EU project, which is 300 square meters, has adequate equipment, and will be worked with by master craftsmen who can prepare them for the jobs awaiting them after completing their education," said Krešimir Tomičić, director of Izolak.

Like other manufacturing companies, Izolak is struggling with a labor shortage. "We have job openings that stay open for a year, and no one applies. Last winter, we were short about thirty people, which is almost a third of the total employees in the company, which has between 100 and 120 workers, and around 140 with subcontractors. There are simply no people, and we were forced to import workers from Macedonia, some from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we looked for subcontractors in Serbia. Our goal is to hire our own people who will earn a living in Croatia and pay taxes and surtaxes to our country," says Tomičić.

From an entrepreneur's perspective, the system and curricular reform that was halted have failed, and several years have been lost. - It's too late now; the education reform should have happened ten years ago. We are facing a chronic shortage of workers and personnel. We've reached the point where we will now train future workers ourselves, outside of the education system, retrain young people who cannot find jobs in their chosen professions, and this will all be at our own expense. We used to conduct this retraining program in cooperation with the Vocational School and the Employment Bureau; they gained theoretical knowledge at school and underwent three months of training with us. Now we are changing that.

This year, only one child enrolled in the Industrial Sheet Metal Worker program, and the Ministry has canceled the program. This is a serious problem that the industry is facing, and entrepreneurs, representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Education, and representatives from the Croatian Chamber of Economy need to sit down together and find a model to interest and sensitize the public, children, and parents about how crucial it is for children to enroll in professions that are needed and ultimately remain in Croatia. On the other hand, Tomičić believes that the trend of marketing campaigns and drawing people away from Croatia, and their departure to Germany, Ireland, England, and Austria, should be stopped because our resources, for which investments were made through education, are leaving as finished products and enriching the foreign labor market.

So the fact is that a three-year scholarship of 600 kuna, guaranteed internships, and secure employment in Croatia or abroad, along with decent pay, are not enough to enroll at least ten students per year. A major factor in the whole story is the parents, because at 14 or 15 years old, children can hardly know what they want to be. – Given the brand-new training space we have, we will try to engage children and parents in the necessary professions right on-site. We will show them through a practical component what the jobs entail, present video materials so they know what we are offering them both through the schooling and later in their work. There's another fact I've faced, and I believe many will agree with me: not all children are cut out for high school. On the other hand, we now have a situation where children with a generally good average grade are getting into high school, which was previously impossible, So, a balance must be struck here because these kids might graduate, but they'll be left without a profession and will be unemployed right after high school because they won't go on to college. Children who should probably be in vocational and trade schools are ending up in high school. And something will have to be done about that," concluded Krešimir Tomičić, the director of Izolaka.

The new workshop that director Tomičić spoke about is part of the project „Strengthening the Competitiveness of Đuro Đaković Montaža Izolak (ĐĐMI) through the Implementation of the Project for Investment in Expansion and Renewal of Production Capacities and Employee Education.“ The goal of the project, with a total value of just over 6 million kuna and co-financed by the EU from the European Regional Development Fund with just over one million two hundred thousand kuna, is to strengthen overall competitiveness through employee training, capacity expansion, increased production and sales revenue, exports, and job creation.