Videos are already being made to lure Africans to Lithuania

The number of foreigners working in Lithuania is increasing. Videos have even been produced inviting Africans to work in Lithuania. Job search websites are full of job offers for foreigners that would put many Lithuanians off. Hard physical work for €600 a month is on offer, Vilija Mačiulskytė notes in TV3.lt

The internet is whole of job adverts and advice on getting a job in Lithuania.

Here, content creator Josilyne Kendi shares tips on YouTube for Africans to get a job abroad.

She has even made a few videos about getting a job in Lithuania. In one of the videos, she shares tips on how to find an unskilled job in Lithuania.

She has noticed that Lithuania quickly admits foreigners who want unskilled or low-skilled jobs.

“A few years ago, the Lithuanian labour market was already discovered by Indian nationals who work as drivers. Now, I am glad that more and more Africans are finding out about the country and looking for unskilled jobs there.

Lithuania is a good choice because their work visa approval rate is high. There is also little need to provide details of your skills and work experience, and there is no age limit for workers,” said Ms Kendi.

She first suggested creating a CV in a European format for those wishing to work in Lithuania. This is important as Lithuania is in the European Union.

“If you don’t have a profile on the social networking platform Linkedin, create your profile there. That’s where employees and employers find each other.

“On Linkedin, state your skills, if you say you are a driver, give details of what driving licence you have, etc. One of the reasons why people don’t find or get a job is because they don’t state their qualifications and skills,” Kendi continued.

She also shared job search portals and explained how to translate job advertisements into English.

Ms Kendi suggested looking for a job not only on job search portals but also on company websites. She gave examples of logistics and transport company websites.

Looking for workers for heavy manual work

But the internet does not only contain videos that advise Africans or other foreigners. Several job search sites offer jobs in different countries, including Lithuania.

For example, the website Schengen.work  in Lithuania seeks workers in a fast-food restaurant.

The job requires workers under 40 years of age. It is described as physically demanding and fast-paced. The nature of the work is food handling, storage preparation (peeling, slicing), dishwashing, and kitchen cleaning.

The work would require 8-10 hours a day, five days a week, and the salary would be 600 euros, plus bonuses.

The next advertisement offers a job as a warehouse worker. It is also looking for young male workers up to 45 years old.

The advert immediately states that the work is demanding. It requires quickly picking orders in the warehouse, stacking, and unloading them into vehicles. Not only do you need to collect the goods quickly, but you also need to be careful not to damage them before they reach the shops.

The advert states that experience is desirable but not essential as training will be provided. You will be required to work for 48 hours. The salary offered is EUR 650 after taxes.

Foreigners can also find more physically demanding jobs, often working more than the normal 40 hours per week. However, they are often offered less than the minimum wage in Lithuania. The most common salary offered is barely €600 per month.

Will only emigration increase the population?

Žygimantas Mauricas, Chief Economist at Luminor Bank, commented on social media that, due to the rapidly declining birth rate, the world’s population is likely to start declining already this century and is unlikely to reach the symbolic threshold of 10 billion.

“The global total birth rate, which measures how many children are born per woman, has fallen from 4.3 to 2.3 over the last 50 years. It is estimated that to maintain a stable world population, the number of children per woman would need to be ~2.3 (~2.1 in developed countries), so a total birth rate of 2.3 is programming the world’s population to stop growing in the foreseeable future.

This is not bad news, given that the world is not underpopulated (currently, 8.1 billion people live in the world), and human activity has not only destroyed many animals and plants but has also caused rapid climate change, which is also hurting wildlife,” the economist said.

He calculated that the lowest birth rates are not in the most developed countries of the European Union (EU) or the USA but also in East Asia.

“In China, the total birth rate has fallen to 1.0 (i.e. the average family has only one child per family), while in South Korea, it is just 0.9 (Taiwan 1.1, Japan -1.3, Thailand 1.3, Vietnam and the Philippines 1.9 each).

Birth rates have also declined rapidly in India, which recently became the world’s most populous country (the birth rate in India has fallen from 5.3 to 2.0 over 50 years). In Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, large families are also going out of fashion, with the birth in that country also falling to 2.0,” said Mauricas.

He said most Latin American countries have also fallen below the 2.3 threshold, with only Arab countries and Africa maintaining relatively high birth rates.

“In Lithuania, too, the birth rate has fallen significantly to just 1.27 (lower only in 2002-2003). It could be higher in Lithuania because of its low population density and abundant wildlife.

Unfortunately, such a low birth rate means that Lithuania’s population will decline in the future, and the only way to increase (or mitigate the decline) is to increase immigration,” the economist predicted.

Migrants arrive for unskilled jobs

According to the Employment Service, on July 1. On July 7, 2010, 138.3 thousand people from 132 countries outside the European Union, i.e. third-country nationals, were employed in Lithuania.

Of these, the most significant number were Belarusians, 48.5 thousand; Ukrainians, 45.3 thousand; Uzbeks, 7.5 thousand; Kyrgyz, 5.7 thousand; Tajiks, 5.3 thousand. “The most significant number of third-country nationals are employed as drivers of heavy trucks and goods vehicles – 72,000, welders – 6,400, concrete workers – 4,800, cooks – 2,700, 2,7 thousand plasterers, 2,5 thousand metalworkers and assemblers, 2,5 thousand office, hotel and other cleaners (mostly Ukrainian), 2,1 thousand construction workers, 1,9 thousand electricians, 2,9 thousand workers in the construction industry, and 2,5 thousand workers in the construction sector.

Most of these occupations are included in the shortage list, with cleaners being an exception (unskilled jobs are not included in the shortage list). Still, due to the specifics of the job (part-time positions, remote locations, working hours, etc.) and the low remuneration, it is more challenging to fill the vacancies,” said Milda Jankauskiene, the spokesperson for the Employment Service.

According to Jankauskienė, Lithuanians no longer want to do specific jobs.

“However, this is not the only reason why foreigners are employed. Sometimes, a foreigner is recruited because of competencies that local job seekers do not have.

For example, expansion into foreign countries requires sales managers who speak the relevant languages and are familiar with local markets. Although many people in Lithuania want to work as advertising, sales and marketing specialists, 1,000 third-country nationals have been recruited for such jobs,” she said.