IBM's operation in Brno, Czech Republic, went from 50 to 2400 employees in two years despite a skilled labor shortage in Central Europe.

"Last year, we calculated that we brought in four new employees every day, seven days a week," said Friedrich Immer, managing director of IBM's Integrated Delivery Center in Brno.

The company plans to increase staff further by up to 500 employees over the next two years.

The center provides IT outsourcing services such as server maintenance, network monitoring and call centers. A large customer is conglomerate ABB. IBM's Brno center has 350 people working on ABB alone, Immer said.

Brno, a city of 400,000, has eight universities that attract students from around the region. "The decision to set up in Brno was based on availability and capability of skilled workers," Immer said.

However, the lack of skilled labor is a general problem across CEE. Large numbers are already employed or have left for higher-paying jobs in countries like the UK and Ireland, which opened their doors to all EU citizens seeking work. The shortage is particularly acute in the automotive industry in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also affects other segments like IT.

Poland and the Czech Republic have started to recruit skilled labor from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan after repeated complaints from the electronics and technology companies that they could not find enough staff.

To address the shortage, IBM has been pulling in workers from all over Eastern Europe, Immer said. IBM personnel also teach IT classes at local universities to provide a potential supply of future employees.

Immer believes the staffing difficulties are manageable for IBM, which offers training and a career path. Last year, on average, the company spent nearly $2000 on education and development for each employee at its various integrated delivery centers around Europe. Training is done online or within the region.