Jan Liman does not know how to safeguard the future of Meblat, hisWarsaw-based kitchen furniture company. He has good sources of timber and plenty of orders. But he is short of skilled workers.
"Two [out of 12] workers have emigrated to Ireland. A third man has resigned saying he was also going to Ireland. Trying to find replacements has been fruitless," he says.
The Polish entrepreneur's complaints are echoed across the European Union's new member states in central and eastern Europe. The squeeze is worst in the construction industry but is also gripping sectors as different as baking and banking. Engineers, technicians and factory hands are all in short supply.
