Meeting with Mr. Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of Labor and Pension System

On 16 March, AmCham met with Mr. Tomislav Ćorić, the Minister of Labor and Pension System, and Ms. Katarina Ivanković Knežević, State Secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Pension System, to discuss recommendations presented in AmCham’s position paper “The Human Capital Map as a Basis for Attracting Investments and Boosting Employment”. AmCham explained the importance of having a comprehensive database containing information on the Croatian workforce that could be used by potential foreign investors to help them choose Croatia as their investment location. Knowledge of foreign languages is one of the Croatia’s competitive advantages, but unfortunately there is a lack of concrete data on availability and territorial allocation of people speaking foreign languages.

Mr. Ćorić agreed it was important to have a user-friendly and comprehensive database containing information on the competencies and skills of the Croatian workforce. It is an interdisciplinary issue and a number of institutions should join forces in order to create a joint solution. Furthermore, Mr. Ćorić emphasized the importance of informing Ms. Martina Dalić, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, about this issue in order to reach a resolution. Ms. Ivanković Knežević mentioned a number of similar EU-funded projects and agreed the “Human Capital Map” could be a feasible project for obtaining EU funding for its creation and implementation. Finally, AmCham expressed interest in a presentation of new employment incentives from the Ministry of Labor and Pension System to its members. Mr. Ćorić agreed with the idea and assured that the Ministry’s further steps in this area will be communicated to AmCham.